The Legend of Samus: Ridley's Redemption
by NooShoak
Summary: 'from beyond the farthest skies the Huntress shall come, upon the trail of her oldest foe' is what the prophecy fortells. However neither Samus nor Ridley realize what will occur on this journey... neither of them know what they will be facing...  NOW COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1: A New Misson

A/N: And here's the new story! A couple of note first: The Spyro portion of this story won't show up until chapter 2. This takes place after both Metroid Fusion and The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon. The version of the Legend of Spyro world I'm using in this story is based off the one from my Legend of the Three trilogy. Finally, I would like to note that Samus' ship resembles the one she used during Corruption, since I think that's the best looking model.

Disclamer: I Don't own Metroid or the Legend of Spyro, only my OCs... who don't appear in this chapter.

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><p>The Legend of Samus: Ridley's Redemption<p>

A Legend of Spyro/Metroid Crossover

Chapter 1: A New Mission

Samus' POV

After I was cleared of any actual charges for the BSL incident, I continued to roam, doing jobs here and there, though I noticed that I'd clearly lost some measure of trust since I kept blowing up all the Galactic Federation's _dangerous_ and _highly illegal_ experiments. As such, the missions I received were much more low-key.

Then, I got the call. It was from the Luminoth. The Space Pirates had attacked and, while there were no casualties, the Space Pirates had made off with an important new prototype: An advanced version of the rift portals generators I'd used during my journey across Aether. They were requesting that I track them down and recover the prototype.

To assist me in this endeavor, they transferred me the data required to use the Dark, Light, and Annihilator Beams. I also made sure all my other abilities were active for this mission.

The Luminoth had also sent me the data they'd managed to gather relating to the location of the Space Pirate's base. According to the coordinates, it seemed to be located in the Rosetta Nebula near the white star Alpha Draconis. I check the Federation archives for information on the system, and found surprisingly little data. Apparently, the only data on the system came from a flyby of a distant probe, which revealed two planets orbiting a small star.

A couple hours later, I arrived in system.

"We are approaching our destination Lady," Said Adam, my ship's AI and former CO, "I have performed a scan of the system: the outer planet is a standard hydrogen-helium gas giant with approximately 21 moons, none of them show signs of habitation. The inner planet is more interesting: It is an Earth-like planet, labeled Aeia on the star charts. It's within its star's 'life zone,' with an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere, approximately ¾ the atmospheric pressure of Earth, and a gravity of 1.1 G's. I am also detecting construction on the surface, along with many Space Pirate communications signals".

"Bring us into land, Adam," I said, "and activate the stealth systems".

I landed and went into the Space Pirate base, fighting off the standard guards as I went. Along the way, I managed to pick up a new X-ray visor, to replace the one I'd… misplaced previously.

As I continued through the base I noticed that some sections were far older then the rest… and bore strong similarities to Chozo ruins I'd explored in the past. My Varia suit's scanners translated the Chozo runes in these sections. It was an unusual dialect, and had familiar symbols mixed with unknown ones. What I could work was that the runes were speaking of some sort of gateway to a land beyond the farthest skies. There were also drawings of two Chozo, a warrior and an elder, meeting with what looked like a depiction of a… dragon? They were shown bowing to one another.

'_How strange… Old Bird never told me any stories about anything like this,' _I thought.

Soon enough, I reached a map station, and downloaded the location of the advanced Rift Portal. I also noticed that there was another landing site near the portal. I quickly used my Morph Ball to shortcut through the vents, quckly reaching the Portal Array. It looked quite similar to the ones I'd seen on Aether, only much bigger. The ruins extended into this area as well, and it seemed that the Space Pirates had tapped into some pre-existing system within the ruins to install their stolen portal array. In fact, it almost seemed to fit _too_ well… as if the portal array was _intended_ to be installed here.

I summoned my ship to this area just in case. However, unbeknownst to me, I wasn't alone. An old foe was waiting, watching me, ready to pounce.

I stepped towards the Portal Array to check how far the Space Pirates had gotten with their modifications to it: from what I could tell, the Array was fully functional, except for the lack of a coordinate plotter and control module. The portal itself was located further ahead.

It was then that Ridley attacked… again. This makes the sixth time we've battled, seeing as the Bottle ship incident and the BSL station versions were just cheap copies. By this point, Ridley didn't have any more tricks for me, as I'd seen them all before.

Before long, I'd almost defeated him when he managed to grab me, and then threw me into the control console, causing the portal array to start booting up. The ruins also started lighting up as well, and seemed to guiding the energies of the portal array.

Ridley saw this happening and flew away, entering his dreadnought, which then entered the portal.

Not wanting to let him escape, I dashed over and boarded my gunship.

"Adam," I shouted, leaping into the pilot's seat, "Follow that ship!"

"Acknowledged, Samus," replied Adam, "Warning, Rift portal is rapidly destabilizing. This will most likely be a one-way trip, Samus. Energy readings indicate extreme transport range, and destination cannot be determined. Given previous records involving Luminoth portal arrays and your recent scans, trans-dimensional transit is highly likely. Are you certain you wish to continue?"

"Yes Adam," I replied, "let's go!"

With that, we entered into the portal, flying into the unknown.

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><p>AN: And so our new journey begins! See you next Chapter!


	2. Chapter 2: Location Unknown

A/N: I decided to post two chapter at first to get my story started. so, let's get to it! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Metroid or the Legend of Spyro, Only my OCs

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><p>Chapter 2: Coordinates Unknown<p>

(Location: ERROR)

Samus' POV

My ship was crashing.

I'd emerged from the portal above an unknown planet, which looked like it had been shattered apart like glass, then glued back together, and realized that something about the portal had rendered my ship's engines inoperable, and ended up making a rather rough atmospheric entry. Luckily, I was able to activate the emergency power, giving me basic flight controls, and managed to steer my gunship towards the nearest land: a chain of volcanic islands. As I got closer, I saw signs of habitation… a moderately sized town. I quickly steered my ship so that I would land on the uninhabited section of the island, crashing down and knocking me out.

When I woke up, Adam chimed in: "Main computer reboot complete. Ship status: Engines offline, Cloaking field offline, Shielding offline, activating auto-repair functions. Suit scans indicate all systems are functional. Are you alright, Samus?"

"I'm fine Adam," I said, "where are we?"

"Unknown Samus," replied Adam, "from what I can tell, our current coordinates seem to correlate to our last known location. Simply put, we _seem_ to be the in approximately the same place we were before, but there appear to be several major differences: First, this planet seems to have recently undergone cataclysmic tectonic upheaval, which our previous location had not. Second, I am unable to pick up any GF comms beacons. This is highly unusual. Third, this planet is giving off significantly different energy signatures from planet Aeia.

Fourth, this planet has two moons, while Aeia had none. Fifth, I am detecting unknown bio-forms in the vicinity. They seem to have no exact match in the standard database. In fact, the closest match I can find is in the mythology database: they appear to be dragons. I should also inform you that a small group of these creatures are currently approaching the ship".

"Might as well go meet the locals," I said.

I then climbed out the top hatch, seeing as the lower one was currently blocked, and concealed myself amongst the nearby rocks.

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><p>Gneiss' POV<p>

After the final battle with the Dark Master, I had taken on my role as leader of the Kaskia Isles, and was working on the continued reconstruction efforts on the area with my good friend, Queen Tempest of the sea dragons, who was lending her people's aid. Jolt was currently off in Concurrent Skies working on cleaning up that region for his people's return. Spyro and Cynder had come to visit and check on the proceedings here. Sparx had decided to take a week or two to visit with his parents. Everything seemed normal.

Then the Objects arrived. At first, I though it was just a meteor shower, but then two of the 'meteors' changed course. One appeared to be headed for the mainland, while the other steered right towards us on Ashfall Island. It fell towards the uninhabited side of the island, and came down with a tremendous crash.

"By the Ancestors!" someone said, "what was that?"

"I don't know," I said, "I'm going to go check it out".

"We're coming with you," said Spyro and Cynder.

"Me too," said Tempest.

We took off and flew over to the far side of the island, were we found a bright orange object, looking like a metallic bird with stubby wings. It had dug quite a furrow as it crashed, making finding it rather easy. It also seemed to be arcing with electricity in places.

"What is that thing Spyro?" Cynder asked.

"I've never seen anything like before, Cynder," Spyro replied.

I hopped down to take a closer look.

Be careful Gneiss," Said Tempest, "we don't know what it is".

"I will be, Tempest," I said, "but as leader of the Kaskia Isles, it's my job to assess whether it's a threat or not".

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><p>Samus' POV<p>

'_Well what do know, those ARE dragons! Not very big ones though, probably young,' _I thought, as I observed them. They look quite unlike Ridley. Most likely they were a different, albeit vaguely similar species. The purple one, Spyro, and the black one, Cynder seemed to command respect from the others, while the somewhat larger orange one with the black tail tip, Gneiss, was some sort of local leader from the sound of it, and the blue serpentine one, Tempest, one carried herself in a dignified manner, like some sort of nobility. I wasn't worried about my ship: it was locked down for repairs anyway. Their movements were cautious, but not exactly hostile.

"It doesn't appear hazardous, though I'm not quite certain about the creature in the garishly-colored armor watching us from behind that boulder yet," said the one called Gneiss, turning towards my position.

'_Damn… note to self: Repaint Armorsuit in a LESS noticeable color,' _I thought.

"Well, come on out," said Gneiss, "we won't harm you if you don't attack us".

'_Well it's worth a shot,' _Ithought, stepping out.

The dragons were looking me over oddly, so I said, "Umm… I come in peace?"

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><p>Spyro's POV<p>

The creature that stepped out was among the oddest things I'd ever seen: (though it was easily trumped by Convexity) it was covered head to toe in some sort of armor. Her (guessing by the voice) helmet was red, with a green visor, while the chestplate and the rest of the armor were yellow and orange. Also, mounted on her armor's right arm was what looked like some sort of cannon.

"Who or what are you?" I asked.

"Samus Aran, Human, Bounty Hunter," she replied, pulling her helmet off, "this may seem like a strange question but… where am I?"

"Uh… you're in the Dragon Realms," said Gneiss, "more specifically, you're on Ashfall Island in the Kaskia volcanic Island arc. Why? Where were you before you arrived here?"

"Planet Aeia, Alpha Draconis system, Rosetta Nebula, Milky Way Galaxy," Samus said.

"Where?" I asked, looking confused.

"Never mind," said Samus, "Well, it seems I'm stuck here until my ship over there finishes fixing itself. So I thing we should get to know each other".

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><p>AN: And there we go! I would also like to note that i've had this story in the works for quite some time, so some parts of it are older than others.


	3. Chapter 3: The Attack

A/N: And here's Chapter 3! let's get to it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Metroid or the Legend of Spyro, Only my OCs.

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><p>Chapter 3: The Attack<p>

Gneiss' POV

Spyro and Cynder went first telling our story, including their origins, how they met, along with freeing Cynder, and eventually defeating Malefor and how we freed him from the Dark Master's control.

Then, Tempest and I told our story, which was, except for a couple parts, was the same as Spyro's, along with detailing the events of the three years he and the others weren't present for.

"What about you Samus," I asked, "What's your story?"

"It would be easier to show you," Samus replied, "one moment".

Samus stepped over to her ship, opening a hatch on top. Soon, she came out carrying some sort of machine, which she set down next to us.

"What's this?" asked Cynder.

"My mission logs," replied Samus, turning it on.

We watched through Samus' mission logs, from her first to her most recent, including her repeated battles with an odd-looking dragon named Ridley, finishing up with her arrival here, and meeting us.

"You've been through quite a lot, Samus," I said.

"True, but I still need to find Ridley and his Space Pirates before they endanger your world as well," replied Samus, "according to my ship's sensors, they landed near an enormous volcano on the mainland of the nearest continent".

"You mean Worldheart peak?" Spyro said, "That's where we fought and freed Malefor from the Dark Master's influence. If what you showed us is true, then we should hurry and warn the Guardians at the Warfang temple".

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><p>Meanwhile…<p>

Worldheart Peak

Ridley's POV

As soon as we'd arrived, I set my forces to work getting various tasks complete. Priority tasks being ship repairs, since the portal did something to our engines, along with setting up a base here at this mountain.

We quickly discovered some interesting crystals: when I saw them, I felt an overwhelming desire to smash them, and when I did so, my wounds from the battle with that accursed bounty hunter miraculously healed! There were also odd, black-purple crystals that, according to our scanners, had an energy signature similar to Phazon! We quickly set to work adapting our PED technology to use these 'Dark Crystals.'

"Lord Ridley!" said one of my underlings, "We've managed to track down were the Hunter's ship touched down".

"Well, what are you waiting for?" I replied, "Send a team after her!"

"Yes sir! Also, we discovered a MASSIVE dark crystal in the deepest part of the volcano," the Space Pirate added, "We've started to work on attempting to extract it".

"Good," I said, "keep me informed".

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><p>Kaskia Isles<p>

Samus' POV

"_Samus,"_ said Adam, _"there are several incoming craft that are consistent with Space Pirate design. It is recommended that you prepare for battle"._

"Acknowledged, Adam," I said, turning to the dragons, "we've got trouble. Those creatures I showed you, the Space Pirates? Well they're coming here, now. It might be best if you stay back for your own safety".

"We appreciate your concern, Samus," Spyro said, "but we can handle ourselves in a fight".

"Yes… and these islands are my home," said Gneiss, "and as the leader of these islands, it's my job to protect them".

"Alright, let's go!" I said, re-sealing my helmet.

We hurried over to the side of the island that the Space Pirates were approaching from, and got ready for battle.

The Space Pirates were using their standard APCs, so I prepped my Ice beam to block up the frontal vents.

"Their ship's weakness is the triangular vent right on the front," I told the dragons, "aim for that, if you can!"

I started blasting the Space Pirate APCs with the Ice beam and missiles destroying them quickly. I looked over at the dragons to see if they needed help, but they were doing just fine on their own: Gneiss was spewing blasts of lava, as was Spyro, who was also spitting orbs of plasma. Cynder was using shadow blasts, and Tempest was whipping up a waterspout.

With our combined efforts, the Space Pirates were repelled, with the exception of the one ship that made it through and managed to drop off its passengers before fleeing. These Space Pirates looked like the ones I'd seen before, with the addition of what looked like some form of PED, except it was dark purple instead of bright blue. These new Space Pirates went into Hypermode almost immediately, and went down after some concentrated effort.

After the battle, I noticed that one of the Space Pirates had dropped a crystal of the same color as the PED it had been using; as I approached it, my suit's threat indicator started rising. I took a scan of it to confirm my suspicions.

_Scan Results: Mineral specimen is radiating with unknown energies. Energy waveform signature bears similarities to Phazon._

I heard the dragons gasping in surprise.

"A Dark Crystal!" shouted Cynder, "I thought we'd gotten rid of all of those when we turned Malefor to our side!"

"Apparently not," replied Spyro, "there is still darkness in the world. After all, it can't exist without it. And as long as there's power, ANY power, to be had, there are those who will misuse it".

"That's a good point," I said, "What should we do now?"

"We should head to the city of Warfang to inform the Guardians of this new threat," replied Spyro.

"_Samus,"_ said Adam, _"Initial repairs of the ship are complete. Engines are fully operational; however, it is recommended that we remain in atmosphere until full system check can be completed. Additionally, I have been examining the energy prevalent in the atmosphere of this planet. I have determined that it would be possible to create an adapter device for your suit so that you could utilize this energy for your weapon systems. In short, with this adapter installed, your Light and Dark ammo will be unlimited. I can install this adapter next time you board the ship"._

"Sounds like a plan," I said, "I can follow you in my ship, though it might be a good idea that someone rides with me to help me navigate".

"I'll do it," said Tempest.

"Alright, I'll call my ship," I said. I switched to the command visor, summoning my ship. It flew over and landed next to me, and the elevator platform dropped out of the lower hatch.

"Shall we?" I asked.

"Let's," Tempest answered.

With that, we entered my ship, preparing to set out.

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><p>AN: And now events really start to get going... I wonder what Ridley and the Space Pirates will find within the volcano (Sarcasm self-test complete).

Anyway, see you next time!


	4. Chapter 4: Journey to Warfang

A/N: And here's Chapter 4! Let's see what happens... and go!

Disclaimer: I don't own Metroid or the Legend of Spyro, Only my OCs

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><p>Chapter 4: Journey to Warfang<p>

Tempest's POV

Samus stepped onto the elevator pad, and I coiled my long serpentine body around to fit onto the elevator, which then rose up, bringing us into the cockpit.

"Welcome back Samus," said Adam, "and greetings to our guest as well".

"Who said that?" I asked, quickly glancing around.

"Don't worry," Samus said, "That was Adam, my ship's A.I., a highly advanced piece of technology created by making a copy of a deceased person's mind".

"That's… odd," I replied, "Anyway, we should get going".

"Okay, where to?" Samus asked, taking her seat and pulling up a map.

I looked over the map, and soon found the area I was looking for.

"Right around here," I said pointing at the map.

"Alright, plotting course," said Samus.

The ship started rumbling as it took off, flying in the direction of Warfang. Samus seemed to be taking it slow, most likely because she didn't want to push the recent repair work too hard. As a result, the others were flying just ahead of us.

Before long, we approached the city, with Spyro and Cynder being swarmed by fans wanting to hear the stories of the battles against the dark armies from the ones who fought them. They managed to evade their adoring fans and reach the City Temple, where the Guardians had been living ever since the Swamp Temple had been destroyed. They landed outside the Temple, and Samus did the same with her ship. We then exited, and went inside to speak with The Guardians.

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><p>Spyro's POV<p>

We'd arrived in Warfang, and entered the Temple, where the Guardians, Terrador, Volteer, Cyril, and the new fire Guardian, Torché, were waiting for us, along with, surprisingly, Jolt.

"Ah, young dragons… we've been expecting you," said Terrador, "Jolt told us you would be coming, along with a visitor from beyond the stars".

"That's right Terrador," I replied, turning to Samus, "This is Samus Aran, she arrived just recently. She warned us about the arrival of some foes of hers, the Space Pirates".

"Really, Spyro?" replied Terrador, "I'd like to hear this tale, if you'd allow it".

"Of course, my story is this…" said Samus as she related her story up to this point.

Later

Just as Samus finished retelling her story, a massive wave of energy went washing across the land.

"What. Was. That?" Samus asked.

"I don't know," I replied, "But it is definitely a bad sign".

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><p>Ridley's POV<p>

Worldheart Peak

I went down to personally oversee the extraction of the enormous Dark Crystal we'd found at the heart of the volcano. We'd unpacked and assembled the Nova particle energy drill, and powered it up, blasting away the rock surrounding the crystal. As we did so, a massive purple wave of energy emitted from the crystal, possibly washing across the land, and something came out of it: A huge black shadowy creature that at first resembled an oversized claw, and then changed to be shaped like a dragon.

"WE ARE FREE AGAIN!" the shadow creature roared, its extremely deep voice sounding quite distorted and multi-tonal.

"And who might you be?" I asked.

"WE ARE NAMELESS; WE ARE ETERNAL," It said, "THE TINY, LIMITED CREATURES OF THIS WORLD HAVE TERMED US 'THE DARK MASTER'. WHO DO WE HAVE TO THANK FOR OUR FREEDOM?"

"That would be me, Ridley," I replied.

The 'Dark Master' was looking me over, and then said "HMM… YOU APPEAR TO BE A PURPLE DRAGON; YOU WOULD MAKE A GOOD SERVANT. JOIN US, RIDLEY, WE SHALL GRANT YOU POWER BEYOND YOUR WILDEST DREAMS!"

I thought about what it said: extra power would be nice, but it was not worth becoming a puppet to something like this.

"I think not, 'Dark Master'," I said stubbornly, "I am Ridley! Leader of the Space Pirates! I shall never submit to your will!"

The Dark Master looked at me dispassionately, and said, "IN THAT CASE, WE SHALL SIMPLY MAKE YOU OUR PUPPET! _DOMINATE MIND!"_

I instantly felt an intense pain in my head, as the Dark Master attempted to invade my mind. I started fighting his will, and suddenly found myself in a strange place: I was in a field of light, and the Dark Master was standing before me, looking much more solid. He lashed out at me, knocking me back quite some distance. I tried to retaliate, but none of my attacks were effective. The Dark Master was rapidly tearing away my mental defenses, when suddenly he was… pushed back by something?

I went over to where the Dark Master was previously and found… myself? It was a dragon that looked much like me, except for the armor he was wearing: It resembled the Chozo Power Suit worn by the Hunter, except with less coverage. This other me was chained up, looking like he'd been a prisoner for a long time.

"Help… me," this other me groaned, "Free… me".

Not knowing what else to do, I did as this other me requested, and broke the chains holding him. As I did so, I felt a great weight lift off my mind, like some block that had been present for years was now gone.

"Thank you, I suggest that we work together to fight off this encroaching darkness," the other me said. His voice was much like my own, but without the hard edge that mine had developed.

Together, we turned to where the Dark Master had been thrown to, and proceeded to attack him. When we did this, I discovered that either my attacks were now more powerful, or the Dark Master's influence was now weaker, maybe some of both.

With our combined strength, we managed to banish the Dark Master from my (our?) mind.

"Thanks for the help, but who are you anyway?" I asked.

"I am you, of course," he replied, "Well, part of you at least. I am the part of you from before the Space Pirates abducted you and made you their monster".

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Allow me to show you," he said reaching out with his forepaw, laying it on my shoulder.

Suddenly, I felt like a floodgate had been opened, and I remembered everything. My early life, my family; the attack on my people's home world of Zebes by the Space Pirates under the command of the Mother Brain, when they mercilessly slaughtered the rest of my people… the Chozo rescuing me and raising me, teaching me to fight… the Space Pirate attack on the on the area where I was being trained, when I was captured. My enslavement by the Space Pirates; when they sealed away my memories so that they could control me. It was all there.

"This… this means," I stuttered, "I should have been aiding Samus, not fighting her. But wait, how did their control over me remain after the Mother Brain was destroyed... twice?"

"Most likely a combination of how deeply engrained the control was," Replied the other me, "and the control chip they'd installed in your brain. Conveniently enough, in that dark being's recent attempts to manipulate you, it fried to control chip. But now it is time for you to wake up, and face the truth…"

As I came out of my reverie, I was back standing in front of the Dark Crystal, surrounded by Space Pirates who had their weapons leveled at me. The Dark Master was also there just as I'd seen him within my mind.

"DON'T BOTHER ATTEMPTING TO COMMAND THEM, FOOL," said the Dark Master, "WE HAVE ASSUMED DIRECT CONTROL OF THEM NOW. YOUR MIND IS MORE RESISTANT THAN WE ANTICIPATED, SO WE SHALL SIMPLY REMOVE YOU AS A THREAT._ INVERSE TIME SLIP!_"

His new attack struck me, and when it did, it felt indescribably odd. I was bathed in a strange light. In my mind's eye, I saw an hourglass with the sand flowing up instead of down, a clock running backwards, a sun rising in the west and setting in the east. I felt myself changing, shrinking, proportions changing. When the light faded, I was much closer to the ground, and felt much weaker.

"MUCH BETTER," the Dark Master said, grinning evilly, "NOW, HOW TO DISPOSE OF YOU… WE BELIVE IT IS TIME TO TEST OUT OUR NEWEST MINIONS! SPACE PIRATES, ATTACK RIDLEY!_"_

Almost immediately, I found myself under assault. My former soldiers were now fighting against me, and I was forced to defend myself as best as I could. I bashed the first few away with a series of melee attacks, and when the second wave came, I tried to blast them with a Plasma orb, but nothing came out of my mouth. I tried my best to hold then off, but there were just too many, and I ended up being beaten… badly.

"AND NOW TO THROW AWAY THE GARBAGE," snarled the Dark Master, "_RIFT WARP!"_

A swirling vortex ripped open behind me. I tried with all of my significantly reduced might to hold on, but it just wasn't enough: The suction of the portal was too strong and I was pulled through. I tumbled through the portal, and was shot out some distance in the air, and came crashing down in a lush valley. The last thing I saw before I passed out was a group of dragons flying towards me, along with a familiar orange gunship…

* * *

><p>AN: And there we go. next time our heroes journey to Avalar, to recover Ridley. See you then!

Also, see if you can figure out what the Dark Master truly is... I'll be dropping occasional hints, before revealing the truth at the end.


	5. Chapter 5: Reset

A/N: and here's chapter 5! now, let's head to the valley of Avalar and find our not-so mysterious guest.

Disclaimer: I don't own Metroid or the the Legend of Spyro Series, only my original ideas.

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><p>Chapter 5: Reset<p>

Gneiss' POV

Our entire group ran outside, and saw dark energies flowing forth once more from Worldheart peak. Then to the west, an immense portal ripped open over the valley of Avalar, and a single small figure came tumbling out.

"It seems that the Dark Master stirs again," said Jolt, "we need to prepare for battle so that we may stop it once more".

"Good idea," I said, "but I think we should send a search party to Avalar valley to find out who just crashed down there".

"We should split up," said Terrador, "I will take Guardians and prepare the city for another battle, including getting the weak and injured to the relative safety of the old city below. Spyro, you take Cynder and the others to Avalar and find out who our guest is".

We took off together, along with Samus in her ship, and flew west out of the city to Avalar valley. Luckily, it didn't take long to find out mysterious guest, as he hadn't moved from where he'd fallen.

We landed to get a better view of this newcomer: he was a purple dragon, but his form was rather different from any dragon I'd ever seen. For one thing he was quite thin, almost skeletally thin. Also, his head was rather oddly shaped, very pointed, almost diamond-shaped, coming to a point at the back. His tail ended with an arrowhead-shaped tailblade. He appeared to be younger than us; probably about the same age Tempest, Jolt, and I were when I'd first met Spyro.

In fact, overall he looked like a younger version of that Ridley creature that Samus told us she'd fought six times before!

* * *

><p>Samus' POV<p>

I brought my gunship down and landed in the lush valley near where the unknown contact was located. I exited the ship and headed over to the others were gathered. I went to see what they were looking at, and found they were surrounding an unconscious dragon that strongly resembled Ridley, except…smaller. I took a scan of the Ridley look-alike.

'_Scan results: Bio-match found. Scan target is a 99.999999998% genetic match to bioform Ridley. Additional data seems to indicate that scan target has undergone recent Physical Temporal Regression. Current physical age: 12 years. Mental Age appears unchanged. Target has no cybernetic components within its body'._

It seemed it really was Ridley! Though, how this happened to him was uncertain.

"He's badly hurt," said Cynder, "we should find him some red crystals to heal him with before moving him".

"Here, I've got some," said Gneiss, reaching into the bag he was carrying. He then pulled out some pieces of red crystal, which he pressed on Ridley wounds. The crystals started glowing, and then seemed to melt into his body, vanishing completely. Suddenly, he started to wake up, and tried and failed to get to his feet.

"Hey there… take it easy," said Spyro, "what's your name?"

"R… Ridley," he said, as he passed out again.

Seeing how weak he was right now, I couldn't help feeling bad for him. It was strange, all this time despising him, and now… I'm not sure how I should feel.

"We should take him back to the city," Tempest said, "he should be able to get proper medical care there".

"He can ride with me," I said, "If he's as badly hurt as he looks, he should be kept stable, in case he's got broken bones or other internal injuries".

"Cynder and I will ride with you," said Spyro.

With that, I deactivated my armor, leaving me in my bright blue Zero Suit, I then carefully picked up Ridley, and walked back to my ship.

"Adam, I'm boarding with a couple of unexpected guests," I said.

"_Acknowledged Lady,_" Adam replied,_ "I'm guessing that you mean Ridley, Spyro, and Cynder. I examined your scan data, and whatever happened to Ridley is cannot be easily explained in my opinion_".

"I wasn't even aware that the Chozo had programmed the Power Suit to detect altered time states in scan targets," I said, "anyway, once we're onboard set course for Warfang".

We boarded my gunship, and we took off back to the city, with Gneiss, Tempest and Jolt leading the way. Before long, we arrived, and I carried Ridley into the Temple, where the Guardians pointed me to the medical room, where I placed Ridley so that his injuries could get proper treatment.

"Are you all right, Samus?" asked Terrador.

"I'm… not sure," I said, "After all this time pursuing Ridley, ever since he destroyed my home when I was a child, and killed my family… to see him so badly harmed, to see what has been done to him, I don't know what to think now. How did this happen to him anyway? I've never seen anything like this before!"

"I believe I can answer that, Samus Aran," said an unfamiliar blue-gray dragon, entering the room.

"Chronicler?" said Cyril.

"Ignitus!" said Spyro.

"Both of you are correct," said Ignitus, sounding amused.

"Excuse me, but who are you and why do you know my name?" I asked warily.

"I am Ignitus, the Chronicler," he said, "I am also sometimes referred to as the Guardian of Time. As for how I am familiar with you? You are written of in the Books of Time, along with Ridley's book".

"Ridley's book? What do you mean?" I asked.

"Yes," Ignitus replied, "You see, every dragon ever born has a book. This is Ridley's. Take a look for yourself, and learn of his true past".

With that, he reached into one of the pockets of the leather pouches hanging from his neck, producing a good-sized book the same color as Ridley. The book then floated down to me and opened up, allowing me to read the truth about my oldest enemy.

What the book revealed was hard to believe. According to what was written here, up to a point, Ridley's history was almost identical to my own! After the Space Pirates abducted him, however, his history sounded much more like what Cynder said she'd gone through while under the Dark Master's control.

"This… changes things," I said.

"Yes, there's also the matter of prophecy," said Ignitus, pulling out a different book. This one had a simple brown leather cover, and was titled 'Book of Prophecies'.

He then opened this book to one specific page. It showed a picture of Ridley in his current state, wearing what looked like some type of Chozo armorsuit, and me in a version of the Power Suit I'd never seen before: it mostly resembled the Varia Suit, except with what appeared to be crystals imbedded in it. Alongside the two of us, Spyro, Cynder, Gneiss, Tempest, and Jolt were standing, along with a larger purple dragon. We all appeared to be in a battle with some sort of shadowy creature. Below the image, was some writing, which said: '_The Huntress from beyond the farthest skies will come to the Dragon Realms, on the trail of her oldest foe. She shall discover her foe's true past, and shall reconcile with him. They shall travel to the Nexus Shrine, and unlock new abilities there. Then, and only then shall they be ready to face the encroaching Darkness alongside Spyro, Cynder, the Three, and the Hero of Ages Past'._

"This is… a lot to take in," I said, "I need some time to think".

"Take your time Samus," said Ignitus, "I shall speak to you again later. For now, I have some other business to take care of. It seems that the attack that the Dark Master used on Ridley shorted out his elemental powers. It's within my power to reawaken them from within his dreams, and since he's already unconscious, this would be an ideal time to do it".

* * *

><p>Ridley's Dream<p>

Ridley's POV

I seemed to still be lying on the ground, but something had changed: Before, I was lying in a grassy field, but now I was lying on cold stone. I slowly, carefully got to my feet, and looked around at my surroundings, which they were supremely weird: It seemed like I was on a small stone platform floating in space, with two moons in the distance. Closer in, there were other platforms similar to the one I was on, some of which were covered in enormous piles of books.

'_Where in the world am I?'_ I thought.

Not knowing what else to do, I called out to the void, not expecting any reply.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" I said, somewhat surprised at the significant change in the pitch of my voice.

Suddenly, someone responded.

"Do not be afraid, young dragon," said the voice, "you are not alone. I have brought you here so that you might be trained to oppose the reawakened darkness. Continue ahead to the Fire sigil to begin your training".

The voice I heard coming out of the void sounded old and wise, and also kindly. I decided that I would trust it for now.

I then noticed that the platforms ahead of me were arranged into a path of sorts, allowing me to move through this strange place. After hopping across several platforms and tilting beams, and almost falling into the void a few times, since I wasn't yet used to my reduced self, I came to a slightly larger platform with an archway on it, which was blocked by some sort of barrier, along with fiery red, raised circle, with a runic symbol embossed on its surface.

"It seems that what the Dark Master did to you has shorted out your elemental abilities," said the voice, "let us see if they might not be awakened. Step onto the sigil".

I did as the voice said, and as I stepped onto the sigil, a fiery red light flowed up out of it, surrounding me.

"Clear your mind, Ridley, and feel the fire that courses through you body," said the voice, "allow its heat to infuse you, and breathe with it. Now, rise up, and unleash the firestorm within you!"

Suddenly, I felt something within me change, as if some barrier had been removed. I felt a great gout of fiery energy flowing through me, lifting me up, wanting to burst loose. It felt amazing, I didn't want to free it, and I held it back as long as I could, until it reached the maximum amount I could contain, and then released it, giving off a wave of fiery energy similar to a power bomb. I then slowly touched down and realized I was wreathed in flames, but they were not burning me.

'_Whoa, that was amazing,'_ I thought, _'I didn't even know I could do that!'_

"Excellent Ridley!" said the voice, "you're a natural. Now that the primal fire rages within you once more, show me you have proper control of it".

With that, the barrier vanished, revealing a path forwards. I hopped up the next few ledges, arriving on a platform with several statues of some sort of undead warriors. Suddenly, the statues lurched to life, attacking me. I quickly fought then off by blasting them with streams of flame. Afterwards, another set of platforms appeared, allowing me to progress.

Up ahead, I came to another set of living statues. I defeated these by dashing into them, trailing fire. They also fell rather quickly. Next, I came to a set of three unlit braziers, which I lit, opening the path forwards. After this, I came to a slightly different platform, with a bright purple crystal cluster in the center, with four empty pedestals surrounding it.

As I approached the crystal, four more of those living statues teleported in atop the pedestals. As I fought them, they dropped shards of purple crystal of the same color as the crystal in the center, and for every one that fell, another enemy appeared. After fighting through about 10, and smashing the gem cluster a couple of times, I felt the same energy building up in me that I'd felt when I'd stepped on the fire sigil. I let the fire power build up to capacity, and then released my full fury on the remaining foes, blowing them away.

After that, another set of ledges appeared, letting me reach the end of this area, which appeared to be part of some sort of temple flanked by a pair of dragon statues, which had glowing yellow eyes.

It was at this point that the voice spoke again.

"You have done well Ridley… but your training is not yet complete," said the voice, "step on the teleporter, and then head to the Electricity sigil".

"Wait," I shouted, "who are you?"

"I am known as the Chronicler," he replied, "but you may call me Ignitus".

With that question answered, I stepped on the teleporter platform and was warped to another similar area, where I glided over to a platform with a bright yellow sigil on it. Remembering what happened before, I hopped onto the sigil. When nothing happened, I called out to the Chronicler.

"Hello, Ignitus?" I said, "Are you still out there? Answer me!"

"A flash of lightning is born of the sky and its tempers, young dragon," Said Ignitus, "you must learn to control your own emotions if you are to tame the free spirit of Electricity".

Taking heed of his words, I did my best to calm myself, putting my thoughts aside.

"Surrender… to its erratic nature," continued Ignitus, "Allow its energy to charge through your body and anticipate its movement… then unleash it… willingly".

I felt a spark of energy within me, rapidly accumulating into a massive charge. I felt myself being lifted up by the energy, and then it released, causing me to emit an enormous electrical shockwave.

"This power is accentuated by one's impulsive nature," said Ignitus, "Trust your instincts, Ridley".

I nodded and continued down the path, fighting more of the living statues, first with a stream of electricity, then with a concentrated orb. After that, I again came to part where I got to practice my massive blast attack, and then came to another temple-like space, this time with a glowing pool in the center.

"Good work again, young Ridley," said Ignitus, "soon it will be time to awaken. But before you do so, I have one more piece of knowledge to pass on to you… the power of Plasma!"

I felt a new piece of information slip into my mind, and I realized I now knew how to combine the powers I'd just been taught, to create more powerful attacks.

All of a sudden, everything around me started getting indistinct, and then simply faded away…

* * *

><p><em>Logbook Entry Update: Bioform Ridley. <em>

_M__orphology: Zebesian Dragon. _

_History: Ridley was hatched of planet Zebes, not long before a Space Pirate raid that killed all the other known Zebesian dragons. At the time, he managed avoid being captured and was rescued by the Chozo. He was raised and trained by them for some time, but later captured in another Space Pirate raid. He was then brought before the Mother Brain, and implanted with a control chip. The rest of Ridley personal history coincides with previous records. Current data indicates that the aforementioned control chip has been destroyed._

* * *

><p>AN: And there we go! next time: Reawakening. See you then!


	6. Chapter 6: Reawakening

A/N: And here's chapter 6! This time, Ridley reawakens within the city of Warfang, and has a meeting with the Guardians. And let's go!

Disclaimer: I don't own Metroid or the Legend of Spyro, only my original ideas.

* * *

><p>Chapter 6: Reawakening<p>

City of Warfang, Dragon Temple

Ridley's POV

I came to on a rather comfortable bed, and glanced around taking in my surroundings: I was in a room in an unidentified building. It was simply decorated, yet elegant at the same time. There was a window, which looked out over a huge city. As I watched, I saw a pair of dragons fly by.

"Hey, he's awake!" said a voice from behind me.

I turned around to see who was there, and saw an orange and black dragon with an earth-toned underbelly, whose tail ended with what looked like a very sharp blade of obsidian. From his size I guessed he was a few years older than me in my current state.

"Who are you?" I asked, "Where am I?"

"My name is Gneiss, and you are in the city of Warfang," he responded, "How are you feeling? You were in pretty bad shape when we brought back here".

"I'm not quite sure," I said, "This… is a strange experience for me. I'm not sure how to react to it".

"Come with me Ridley, we need to speak to the others," Gneiss replied.

"Others?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yes, my companions, the Guardians, along with a human named Samus," Gneiss said.

"S-Samus?" I replied, "What is she doing here?"

"Ah… yes," Gneiss said, "I've heard about your…history with her. But when she saw the state you were in, she brought you back to the city personally".

'_Why would she choose to help me?'_ I thought.

We started down the hall, exiting what seemed to be the hospital wing of the building. Soon we reached a larger room, with a green pool in the center. Around the pool was a group of dragons of various colors, along with a blond-haired human woman in a blue jumpsuit.

"Ah, our guest is awake," said the blue-gray dragon in a familiar voice.

"Chronicler?" I said.

"Yes Ridley it is I," the Chronicler said.

The jumpsuited woman turned around, and looked me right in the eyes. I recognized her: that young child from K2-L, the hunter who'd trailed me... hunted me for years, Samus Aran.

"Hello Ridley," said Samus, sounding mildly amused as crossed her arms in front of her.

"Samus, I need to tell you," I started to say.

"Save your breath, Ridley," Samus interrupted, "Ignitus here has already explained".

"What… did he tell you?" I asked hesitantly.

"Pretty must everything," Samus replied, "he showed me your history, so now I know your true past. Look Ridley, I can't forget what happened in the past, but I am willing to shift the blame to the true villains: The Space Pirates".

"I only have one question," I said, "Why did you help me?"

"Because," replied Samus, "no one deserves the sort of treatment you apparently received".

"Thank… you?" I said, "What do we do now?"

"First we would like to know what happened to you within Worldheart Peak," said the fiery red dragonelle.

"Worldheart Peak… you mean that volcano?" I asked.

"Yes, young dragon, we would like to hear you version of what transpired" said the massive green dragon.

"Okay… here's what happened," I said, "After our… rather uncontrolled decent, we, that is to say the Space Pirates, quickly went about setting up a base of operations, and started researching this world… looking for resources we could exploit. It wasn't long before we found that _massive_ dark purple crystal in the depths of the volcano. To shorten the story a bit, we set up the Nova Drill, and started mining away the excess rock around the crystal. That's when _it_ appeared: some sort of shadowy entity calling itself the 'Dark Master'. It tried to convince me to become its puppet, its tool. I told it no. At that point, it attempted to take me over directly, but in the act doing this; it inadvertently _released_ me from the control I'd unwittingly been under for years. After that, it changed me to be what you see before you now. Then, after beating me up, he opened a portal and tossed me away into that valley where you found me. So, what now? Go confront the Dark Master and his new minions?"

The purple dragon that'd been standing back and watching our conversation suddenly spoke up.

"So it's true… the Dark Master has been awakened again," he said, "and what do you mean 'new minions?'"

"The Space Pirates. They're under his sway now," I replied, "I guess he did it at the same time he was attempting to control me. Actually he made them attack me, while just sitting back and watching".

"That sounds about right," said an unfamiliar, extremely deep voice. I turned towards the source of the voice, only to find myself looking at a much larger and older purple dragon.

"Ah, Malefor," said Ignitus, "good to see you've arrived. We need your… expertise with the Dark Master's powers to see if you can do anything for young Ridley here".

"Expertise?" I asked, "What do you mean?"

"The Dark Master had used me has its host body for many years," said Malefor, looking pained. He then examined me closely, as if trying to discern something, "I'm sorry to tell you this, but your condition seems to be irreversible except by the passage of time".

"Well... I guess I can live with that," I said, "what's the plan now?"

"Unfortunately, you are not yet ready to face the Dark Master," said Ignitus, "You and Samus must venture to the Convergence Temple, but before you go, I have a gift for you".

Ignitus wandered over to a nondescript part of the wall, and recited some sort of incantation.

"Gift from long ago, hidden here in ages past, your time has come, reveal yourself so you may be used to protect the future!" said Ignitus.

Suddenly, the wall slid open, and he pulled out a metal case, which he then set down in front of me. I looked at the case and noticed that it had the symbol of the Chozo on it!

"This was left here with my predecessor in the position of Chronicler," said Ignitus, "The ones who left it here were fleeing a great evil, and told him that one day; you would come under these conditions and would need the items stored within".

Just then, a holographic control panel on the case activated; the standard hand-scanner. I placed my right forepaw on the panel, and the seams on the case lit up, a hologram of a Chozo appeared as a message started playing.

"_Greetings Ridley, last of the Zebesian dragons. If you are hearing this message, then you have recovered your true memories and been freed from the Space Pirate's manipulation,"_ said the Hologram, _"as such, you are now fit to wield the items contained within this armor case. Ridley, I present to you the Version D Power Suit!"_

With a dramatic burst of steam, the seals on the armor case released, and the lid hinged open, revealing several items: a pair of orange metal bracers with elliptical green crystals set in them, a pair of wing-guards, and a large orange disc with an angular letter R on it.

I put on the bracers and wing-guards, and noticed an automated voice coming out of the armor case.

"_Version D Zero Suit equipped," _said the voice_, "registering user, please wait… DNA registration complete. User, you may now equip the Power Suit"._

The orange disc was then lifted out of the case, allowing me to pick it up.

When I grabbed the disc, I felt waves of energy flow over me, as it lifted me up. I then felt the suit form around me. It was surprisingly lightweight, almost like a second skin. As I landed again after the armor's boot sequence, I walked over and examined myself in the mirror. My armor made me look similar the other me I'd seen within my mind, with several interesting features: my tail-blade had energy blades on either side, making it even more dangerous. Overall, it made it look like that I was wielding a sword with my tail. I also saw that I didn't have an arm cannon, but then I noticed a set of particle accelerator rings built into my helmet, meaning that it would boost the power of my breath attacks instead.

"_Version D Power suit now online, _said the voice, _"All primary functions online. Fire, Electricity, and Plasma abilities detected in user. Additional Chozo Power suit (Version S) detected. Establishing uplink… done"._

I saw a new icon appeared on my HUD: a bar indicating Samus' suit energy, running along the bottom of my visor. I assumed that Samus had a similar bar for me on her visor too.

* * *

><p>Samus' POV<p>

'_Well, I certainly wasn't expecting that,' _I thought.

Upon opening, the case had revealed a version of the Power Suit for Ridley! I then noticed that a gauge monitoring Ridley's condition had been added to my HUD it showed that his suit had apparently come with five energy tanks pre-installed. I had more questions, but I decided that they could wait till later.

"Alright, what should we do now?" I asked.

"It is time for the two of you to travel to the Nexus Shrine, and the Convergence Temple beyond," said Ignitus, as he pulled out what appeared to be an atlas, "Here is what you need to know to find the temple".

I stepped over and scanned the page he'd opened to book to. The results were a new map being added to my suit's archives, along with appeared to be some sort of riddle or prophecy: _The way to the Convergence point, where the worlds meet, may only be opened by the Three, the Bearers of the Fragments. Only when their hearts beat in unison can the hidden path be opened._

"Okay… that doesn't make a lot sense to me," I said, "who are these 'Bearers of the Fragments' it mentions?"

"Think Samus," said Ignitus as he glanced towards Gneiss, Tempest, and Jolt, "You've already met them".

_'Wait, didn't Gneiss and Tempest mention that they, along with Jolt, were chosen by the pendants they wore?'_ I thought.

I approached them to confirm my suspicions.

"Gneiss, are you, Tempest and Jolt the ones who are the ones which the book is talking about?" I asked.

"Yes, Samus, we are," Gneiss replied.

"We were chosen by a truly ancient power that guards this world," said Tempest.

"We should get ready to go Samus," said Jolt, "make sure you're prepared for this, to get to our destination we need to travel by… unorthodox means".

"What do you mean?" asked Ridley.

"To reach the Nexus shrine, I'll have to teleport us there," said Jolt.

Gneiss, Tempest, Jolt, Ridley, and I went outside, as Jolt began to focus his energies to transport us.

"Ignitus," I said, "do you know what we will face at this 'Convergence Temple'?"

"Unfortunately not, Samus," Ignitus replied, "but there are some things which must be found out for yourself".

"I'm ready Samus," said Jolt, "Shall we go now?"

"I'm ready," I replied, "how about you Ridley?"

"I am too," Ridley replied.

"Alright, let's go then," said Jolt, "SHOCK PORT!"

With that, I felt an immense level of energy building up in the air, and suddenly a MASSIVE bolt of lightning struck down with a thunderous CRACK-KOOM, and carried us away.

* * *

><p>AN: And there we go! Next time: Converging... see you then!


	7. Chapter 7: Converging

A/N: And here's Chapter 7! Let's enter the convergence temple, and prepare for Samus and Ridley's trials.

Disclaimer: I don't own Metroid, the Legend of Spyro or any of the other game I reference in this chapter. I only own my original ideas.

* * *

><p>Chapter 7: Converging<p>

Ridley's POV

Nexus Shrine

CRACK-KOOM!

We arrived on an unknown island, which from what I could tell was completely surrounded by storms. Behind us was a small shrine. It wasn't much to look at, just a stone archway located under a simple roof, held up by fluted columns. On the floor in front of the archway, there was a carving of three dragons wearing the same pendants as Gneiss, Tempest and Jolt!

The three of them stepped up to stand around the archway, and started focusing power through their pendants. Suddenly, their pendants started glowing, and then energies shot out of them, meeting within the archway, causing a swirling multi-colored portal to appear within.

"I guess that's it," said Gneiss, "let's head inside".

With that, the five of us entered the portal.

* * *

><p>Convergence Temple Entranceway<p>

This place was strange, like it was put together from many separate, unrelated pieces. It looked both high tech and ancient at the same time. The room we were in seemed to have no exit, and was decorated with many intricate inlays and bas-relief. The images seem to be displaying many heroic deeds and great events. One set of images showed a warrior in green fighting a great variety of foes. Another showed a snow-white wolf with red markings fighting what appeared to be a hydra wearing samurai helmets. Yet another showed a great army made up of many species fighting what appeared to a dragon whose dark, crystalline scales seemed to absorb all light, interestingly though, this image was unfinished.

The only other object of interest in the room was a large bell, which had a sign next to it reading 'Ring Bell for Service'.

"Okay, now what?" asked Tempest.

"I think we should ring the bell," I said.

"Good idea," Gneiss replied, "just don't stand under while you ring it. I don't wish to see a repeat of what happened 4 years ago beneath Boyzitbig".

I looked around and found the bell rope, then pulled it, ringing the bell.

It gave off a clean, resounding ring. It reverberated around the room, but didn't seem to have any effect.

Then we heard a voice.

"I'll be right down," said the voice, "please be patient".

We didn't have to wait long, as a pair of pillars with some sort of emitters on them rose from the floor. The emitters then switched on, projecting an orange portal onto the wall, from which a large gray dragon that was wearing some sort of powered armor, along with some sort of computer on his wrist, emerged.

"Greetings guests, and welcome to the Convergence Temple," he said, "I am Sab Liath, Operative with the Multiverse Protection Agency, Guardian of Forgotten Unrealities and Lost Eternities, and for now, I am also here to act as your guide to this place".

I noticed an expression of surprised familiarity of the faces of Gneiss, Tempest, and Jolt. Sab Liath then turned to directly face Samus and me. And then he did something I didn't expect: he pulled out a clipboard!

* * *

><p>Samus' POV<p>

From the list of titles he gave, our host sounded like someone of importance. I thought it was odd when he pulled out the clipboard, even odder when he started reading our names off of it.

"Let's see here: Samus, Ridley, according to our records, you're here to go through a training sequence, along with recovering artifacts you'll need to complete your journey. Gneiss, Tempest, Jolt, you can follow me to the observation area. Before we start, however, does anyone have any questions?"

"I do," I said, "My question is: what exactly is this place? Where in the world is it located?"

Sab Liath smiled at that.

"Excellent questions, Ms. Aran," he replied, "First, as previously stated this is the Convergence Temple, where entities from across the Multiverse can come in times of need to acquire what they need to succeed in their endeavors. Second, I can't tell you 'where in the world' this place is located, seeing as it isn't technically located within any specific world but rather in between all of them. This place is maintained by drawing an infinitely small amount of energy from every reality in existence".

"What kind of tests and trials will we face here?" asked Ridley.

"Another good question, but it is one I have no answer for," Sab Liath said, "I don't know exactly what you'll face here, nor do I know exactly what you'll receive as a reward once you pass them until you do. Any other questions?"

Ridley and I glanced at each other, and came to a decision.

"We have no more questions," I said.

"All right then," Said Sab Liath, "Samus, please proceed into the left portal. Ridley, please proceed into the portal on the right".

We then entered the portals, and prepared to face the trials of the temple.

* * *

><p>AN: And there we are! Next time: Ridley's Trials... see you then!


	8. Chapter 8: Ridley's Trials

A/N: And here's chapter 8! Let's see what the Temple puts Ridley through, shall we? I decided to use a bit of the Apeture Science test labs since it's a sensible location to test someone.

Disclaimer: I don't own Metroid, the Legend of Spyro, or Portal. I only own my orininal ideas.

* * *

><p>Chapter 8: Ridley's Trials<p>

Ridley' POV

I emerged out of the portal, and found myself in a very plain, clinically clean room. I was soon greeted by a synthesized female voice.

"Welcome [Subject Name Here] to the testing sequence," said the voice, sounding slightly bored, "please proceed the next chamber".

I moved ahead, and in the next room saw an illuminated panel showing a series of images, apparently depicting what testing elements I'd have to face. It showed, among other things, a box dropping from a pipe and onto someone's head, a silhouette of a person with speed lines behind them, the same silhouette in a flying position, again with speed lines, and so on. Suddenly the panel flickered, and when it came back on, the human silhouettes had been replaced by ones of dragons.

I continued deeper into the room, and my Power Suit detected an upgrade nearby, and I saw a huge red button mounted into the floor, and a big glass tube coming out of the ceiling above a higher ledge. A loud clunking sound started emerging from the tube, and then a white cube-shape box dropped out onto the ledge. I flew up to the ledge, albeit somewhat unsteadily, seeing as I still wasn't quite adjusted to my reduced form. Once I got up to ledge, I took a moment to examine the box.

Its outer shell was mostly plain white, though it had a symbol resembling an iris door on each side. It was too heavy for me to lift in my current state, but I could pick it up with my Grapple Beam, which I was pleased to discover was pre-included with the suit. Anyway, I managed to get the box onto the button. Once activated, the button caused part of the wall to retract, and an armature came into the room holding a containment vessel with an object inside resembling a thruster pack. The container opened, and I recognized it as a component for my suit! I collected it and it immediately installed itself.

_Speed Booster acquired! Run in one direction for several seconds to activate. Can also be used while airborne. Subsystem: Shinespark online. Check your logbook for more information._

_'This will come in handy,'_ I thought.

"Good work, [Subject Name Here]," said the bored A.I., "you may now proceed to the next part of the test".

* * *

><p>With that, a door opened on the same level as me, allowing me to pass through. On the other side of the door, I was standing in a hall that in no way whatsoever matched the previous room. Instead of a clean scientific facility, it looked like a passageway from an ancient temple. There were markings on the floor showing one of the same pictures from the previous room: a dragon with speed lines surrounding it. I took this as a hint that I'd need to use my new speed booster here.<p>

I started running, and shortly thereafter, I felt a slight pulse on my back as the booster started up, and then I suddenly found myself running MUCH faster, trailing blue energy as I went. Up ahead, I saw some debris obstructing the passage, but there was no way I could stop in time, so I kept going… and plowed straight through it without even slowing down! I continued down the passage, and then I saw another problem: the tunnel appeared to dead end. Then I saw an arrow crudely drawn on the wall, pointing straight up.

Thinking quickly, I translated my speed boost into a vertical Shinespark jump, bursting through some weak gratings along the way, and emerging into another passageway. I started down this new hall, but was quickly stopped by a complete lack of floor. I looked down into the pit below me, but it seemed to stretch on to infinity. Seeing no other way to progress, I started flying down the passage.

At first, it seemed like a simple proposition, but then I heard the sound of grinding stones behind me. I spared a quick glance back, but realized it would probably have been better if I hadn't: the walls behind me were smashing inwards, and quickly catching up to me! I started up the speed booster, and just in time, it triggered, launching me away from the crushers and into a safe room at the tunnel's end.

"What the heck was that about?" I asked to empty space, "Are you _TRYING_ to kill me?"

One of stone tiles on the wall rotated around, revealing a screen, on which Sab Liath's image appeared.

"My apologies, Ridley," he said, "I have no control over what you're challenged with. The temple itself picks that. If it's any consolation, the crusher hall you just passed through was somewhat similar to one Samus had to go through in the past, though she had to do it while in Morph Ball".

"You say the Temple decides what I'm put through?" I replied, "Do you mean that bored sounding A.I. who I heard earlier?"

"No, that's GLaDOS, Genetic Lifeform and Disc Operating System," Sab Liath said, sighing, "we… contracted with her to allow us to use some of her test chambers in exchange of letting her record the testing data for her archives. Of course, that was only AFTER we got over her dislike of organics, oh and murderous impulses".

"Uh, okay… where do I go from here?" I asked, "There's no door".

"Ah, hold on," Sab Liath said, as he started typing something into a console, "that should do it".

I noticed that a door had appeared out of nowhere, covered by a yellow energy shield. I scanned it, to see what I needed to do.

Scan results: Door is protected by a low-level energy shield. A pulse of Electricity should disrupt the shield.

Seeing what this meant, I breathed out a bolt of electricity, causing the door to open. I stepped through, and found I was again in a clean white test chamber again.

"Hello again [Subject Name Here]," said GLaDOS, "To progress in this chamber you must useeeee…"

Suddenly the lights in the room dimmed, the panel displaying the testing elements started displaying a Blue Screen of Death, and everything seemed to shudder. It sounded like she was having a major system error.

"Whoaaa… what happened?" said GLaDOS, sounding distracted, "Time out for a second, I thought I fixed that. Listen… can you test on your own for a minute? Something's come up that I have to deal with. Please test on your own recognizance".

I looked around the room at the various elements that made it up. There was a small button on top of a pedestal, some sort of emitter on the wall, currently inactive, a metal pipe with some sort of orange goop clinging to its interior, two larger buttons mounted into the floor and another box, again sitting on a raised ledge. Beneath the pipe was a metal grating. Also, the room was divided by a large gap in the floor, and as I approached the edge, I noticed that over the pit there was a strong downdraft being generated by a set of fans on the ceiling, preventing me from simply flying across.

Not knowing where to start, I tried pushing the small button. It caused orange goop to start pouring out of the pipe, though it stopped a couple seconds later. I pulled the box off its ledge, and tried putting it on one of the large buttons, which caused a ramp to rise from the floor. I moved the box over to the other button, which caused the emitter on the wall to turn on, creating a… tube of blue light?

I noticed that the tube of light went straight over where the ramp had appeared from the floor. I had a hunch, and tried flying into the tube. As soon as I touched it, I felt myself being funneled into the center of it, and also being pulled along its length, until I came to a blank wall in alignment with the edge of the platform. I 'swam' downwards out of the funnel, and came up with a plan.

Pushed the button to set the orange goop flowing. It poured out of the pipe and into the funnel. Once the blob of goop was over the correct area, I pulled the box off the button, causing the goop to drop straight down and coat the floor. Still wondering just what this stuff was, I tried walking across it, but suddenly found myself going much faster than my legs were moving! I realized that the orange goop was some sort of… Propulsion Gel! I put the box onto the button to raise the ramp, and then lined up with the 'runway' I'd created. I started running along it, getting a boost from the gel, and then my speed booster kicked in, making me go even faster! As a result, I easily cleared the gap.

* * *

><p>I went through the door, exiting the chamber. In the next room, it seemed I was stuck, until I noticed a hole in the wall: the same sort of hole that I remembered observing Samus using the Morph Ball to access areas in the past. In was then I found I had two problems: One, I didn't have a morph ball module included in my suit, in fact, a quick system check showed that my version of the Power Suit was incompatible with the morph ball! Then again, in my current state, I was already small enough to fit into morph ball sized holes. The second issue was that this was too small. In fact, it was roughly half the size it should have been.<p>

_'What am I supposed to do here?'_ I thought.

I scanned the hole, not knowing what else to do.

_Scan results: opening is approximately 50% diameter of Morph Ball passage. ERROR: Morph Ball is not compatible with version D Power Suit. Booting alternate system. Compression Field installed. Use Compression Field to access areas you cannot otherwise fit into. Check your logbook for more information._

I activated the Compression Field, and shrank to about half my previous size. Just to check, I switched it back off, and got larger again. Now knowing it was safe enough, I turned it back on and slipped through the hole. Inside, I had to navigate a short maze, avoiding a couple of pistons, and climbing up some short ledges. As I emerged out of the far side and turned off the Compression Field, I saw a door that was different than any previously. It was a large round door with no markings on it. Above the door, there were two lights, both red. There was a button in front of the door, which I pushed. As a result, one of the lights turned green.

"Please wait for secondary input," said a generic computerized announcer voice.

With nothing else to do, I sat down to wait.

* * *

><p><em>Logbook Entry: Compression Field: Alternate system to the Morph Ball, this system comes pre-installed with the Version D Power Suit. When activated, it will reduce the size of the user by a preselected amount. Maximum Compression level: 50% Diameter of Morph Ball. Use this system to access areas you cannot reach otherwise.<em>

* * *

><p>AN: And there we go! Next time, we see Samus' Trials. See you then!


	9. Chapter 9: Samus' Trials

A/N: And here's Chapter 9! Let's see what Samus is facing, shall we?

Disclaimer: I don't own Metroid or the Legend of Spyro, nor do I own Divinity or Portal. I only own my Original ideas.

* * *

><p>Chapter 9: Samus' Trials<p>

Samus' POV

I came out of the portal, and found myself in a hallway of a partially ruined temple. There was a door behind me, but it was solidly sealed. At the far end, there was a book on a pedestal, with four vases around it, three of which were broken. I checked the book, which said something about looking for the whole. Seeing the obvious clue, I touched the unbroken vase, causing the nearby door to open, revealing what appeared to be a central hub.

There were three other passageways leading out of the room, and what appeared to be a teleporter pad in the center of the room. I turned left and entered the next chamber. At the end of the hall, I came to a VERY tall room, with another book inside. The book read 'The Dragon is agile and quick, with cat-like reflexes'. This statement didn't strike me as odd, seeing as the world we accessed this place through WAS populated with dragons. Looking around, I noticed a series of ledges leading upwards. I started climbing, leaping from ledge to ledge, and being very careful not to fall. After a lengthy climb, I reached the top, where I found a large brass lever. I pulled the lever, and found myself warped back to the central hub.

I entered the next chamber, which was positively coated with gold. Again, there was a book in this room. It read 'the Dragon is wise, and knows that all that glitters is not gold'. Glancing around this room, my eyes soon fell on the one item in the room NOT made of gold: a pumpkin. I walked over and picked up the pumpkin by the stem using my left hand. I was again warped back to the central hub.

I stepped into the final chamber in this section, and found myself in a rather cluttered room. It appeared to be perfectly symmetrical, with identical items on both sides, in the same positions. It was a perfect mirror image. Yet again, there was a book on pedestal. It read 'the Dragon is perceptive, and can find the difference in the mirror's image'. The opposite page had the same statement written backwards.

I looked around this room, trying to spot something out of place. Everything seemed to have a match. That was until I saw a chalice that had no twin. I picked up the chalice, but it suddenly vanished, and I was warped back to the central chamber once again.

Once I was back in the central chamber, I saw that the teleporter was now online. I stepped into the portal and found myself in a completely different area. I was faced with a room full of what looked like… zombies? My radar pinged them as enemies, so I started blasting them with the Plasma beam, guessing that it would be rather effective, which it was.

I then heard a familiar sound: the sound of a suit upgrade! I looked around the room and found it. It appeared to be a beam weapon upgrade, one I'd never seen before. It resembled a sphere of multi-colored light, constantly shifting throughout the full spectrum (and possibly beyond). I picked it up, and attempted to install it, only to get an error message… one that I hadn't seen since my first mission on planet Zebes.

_ERROR: Item cannot be processed by current suit._

_'I guess that means I'll be getting a new suit soon then?'_ I thought.

As I move down the connecting passageway between tests, I heard Ridley via my suit radio talking to Sab Liath about the safety of the trials he was being put through, and about an AI named 'GLaDOS'.

I continued into the next area, which was different yet again. This time I had to navigate a morph ball maze to shift the lock cylinders on the next door. Along the way, I had to avoid the standard hazards, such as exposed, arcing electrical conduits, Crushing pistons, that sort of thing. After clearing the maze, I passed through the next door, and ended up in a clinically white chamber.

* * *

><p>"Welcome [Subject Name Here], to this test chamber," said a synthesized female voice which I assumed was GlaDOS, "to progress, you must complete a short sequence of tests. To complete these tests, you will temporarily be granted use of an Aperture Science Hand-Held Portal Device".<p>

A section of the floor slid open, and a pedestal with an odd-looking gun on top of it rose into the room, along with a pair of boots with what looked like leaf springs attached to them. Realizing I'd need two free hands to use this device, I deactivated my Varia Suit, made sure my eye screen was in place so I could still use my visors, picked up the Portal Gun, and put on the boots. I noticed that the portal gun had two triggers: one with a blue mark, and one with an orange mark.

"You are now in possession of an Aperture Science Hand-Held Portal Device and a pair of Aperture Science Long Fall Boots," said GLaDOS, "a few quick warnings, however: to not touch the operational end of the Device. Do not look directly at the operational end of the Device. Do not submerge the Device in liquid, even partially. Most importantly, you should never !o#e$% a ^o&*a? !i#i$ %^e &a*i?i! o #$e %u^a& *u+!ae, despite the fact that #u$a% ^e&i*e=! is an excellent portal conductor".

I proceeded to the next chamber, which seemed simple enough: there were two platforms on either side of a pit containing what looked like some sort of blue gel, and two higher ledges on opposite ends of the pit. There was a painted sign on the edge of the pit that showed a silhouette of a person bouncing off the gel like it was trampoline. Not seeing any other way to progress, I jumped into the pit… and bounced much higher than I'd descended! On the far side of the pit, I shot my portal gun onto the nearby wall, and the other end of the portal up to the higher ledge. Stepping through the portal, I noticed a large floor mounted button, and lined myself up with the far ledge and bounced my way across. Here, I found another button: a smaller one on top of a pedestal. I pushed this button, which released a white box into the room. It fell down onto the gel below, and bounced onto one of the lower ledges. I hopped down a picked it up using the tractor field generator attached to the portal gun. I then walked through the portal again and placed the box into the large button, opening the exit door.

"Good work," said GLaDOS, "you may continue [Subject Name Here]".

I exited the chamber, and came to an elevator with some sort of energy field in front it. Not quite sure what it was, I switched my eye screen to scan mode, and scanned the device.

_Scan results: Aperture Science Material Emancipation Grill will not obstruct your passage. Frequency of field is tuned to disrupt open portals, forcing them shut. Warning: may possibly cause harm to user. Possible hazards may include 'Emancipation' of dental materials and ear tubes._

With the hazards in mind, I stepped through the field and… was completely unharmed? The elevator started rising, and shunted me into another test chamber. This one contained three laser emitters, three receiver ports, and two glass boxes containing what looked like prisms. One of the emitters was aimed directly at a portalable section of wall. I placed one portal on this wall, and the other on the wall opposite the receivers. The laser beam went straight through the portal and directly into one of the receivers. I used the mirrored cubes to redirect the other to lasers through the portal to the remaining receivers, opening the exit.

As I exited the room, I came into a hallway with an empty shelf set into the wall.

"Congratulations on completing the tests presented to you," said GLaDOS, "the data from the tests you have completed has been processed, and added to the archives. Thank you for participating in this Enrichment Center activity. Please return the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device and Aperture Science Long Fall Boots to the Equipment Recovery Annex".

I placed the requested items onto the shelf, and once I stepped away and reactivated my armor, the shelf retracted away into the wall, and the door at the end of the hallway opened. I went through the door, and was presented with a very simple chamber. All there was in front of me was: another door, this one with two lights above the door, one red, one green, and a single button. I pressed the button, and the second light turned to green, opening the door to the artifact chamber of the Convergence Temple.

* * *

><p>AN: And there we go! In case you're wondering, the scrabmled warning that GLaDOS gave actually reads: 'You should never connect a portal within the facility to the lunar surface, despite the fact that lunar sediment is an excellent portal conductor'. Next time: Samus and Ridley enter the artifact chamber... and recover a new power. See you then!


	10. Chapter 10: A New Power

A/N: and here's the next chapter! let's finish up with the Convergence Temple.

Disclaimer: I don't own Metroid or the Legend of Spyro, I only own my Original ideas.

* * *

><p>Chapter 10: A New Power<p>

Samus' POV

As I entered the artifact chamber, I saw Ridley entering through an adjacent door. We were in a circular chamber, there were several platforms far above near the ceiling that I couldn't reach. I could also tell that a similar number of spinners retracted into the floor. Also, there appeared to be something concealed in the exact middle of the floor.

"Ridley, could you fly to those platforms up there and see what you can find?" I asked.

"Sure thing, Samus," Ridley replied.

Ridley flew up to the nearest platform, and found a control panel. He scanned it, causing a Spinner to extend from the floor and lock into place. I flipped into Morph Ball and rolled into the Spinner, then boosted until the mechanism stopped turning. Ridley then flew over to each of the other platforms and we repeated the process for the remaining three Spinners. Once the final Spinner was used, a hatch in the middle of the floor ground slowly open, revealing a pedestal with a pair of Items sitting on top of it. One appeared to be a general suit upgrade: a disc-shaped object with a familiar stylized letter 'S'/Lightning bolt symbol on it. It was one I'd never seen before however, it was green in color, bordered with a pair of serpentine dragons. The other object appeared to be a beam weapon upgrade, and had a stylized letter 'R' on it. Just as I was about to grab the upgrade, Sab Liath appeared on a screen on the wall.

"Samus, I should warn you," Sab Liath said, "the data now available to me indicates that collecting that suit upgrade will… change you… permanently".

"Change me in what way?" I asked cautiously.

"As in the 'rewriting your genetic code' way," Sab Liath replied.

"Oh, well it's not like I've never had that done to me before," I said, "Technically, I already have the genes of three species in me, what's one more?"

"Interesting point," Sab Liath said, "though, I doubt you were conscious for those previous occasions, nor have you had such a major change done to you before. Anyway if you feel you are ready, you may collect the artifact".

I mentally prepared myself for whatever was about to happen and, after handing the beam weapon to Ridley, seeing as the symbol on it showed that it was supposed to go to him, I collected the suit upgrade and began the installation procedure. I immediately felt myself being lifted up by the process, and felt the usual energies starting to flow into both me and my suit. Suddenly something seemed to go wrong. It turned from a gentle influx of power to an indescribably painful sensation like being torn apart and reassembled in a completely different manner. A message quickly flashed across my visor: Warning extreme genetic mutation detected! Emergency suit shutdown initiated. It was then that I blacked out…

* * *

><p>Location: UNKNOWN<p>

'Where am I?' I thought.

I looked around: I was standing on the end of a rocky projection. Across from me was a similar spire, a large dragon glided down from the sky, and landed on the opposite spire from me. I examined the dragon. It way oddly colored, having a similar color pattern as my Varia suit. I then realized that it was not only colored like my suit, it was WEARING it.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I am you," It replied in my voice, and then my perspective shifted, and I was looking at myself from the dragon's perspective, "and you are me. We are one and the same, two parts of one whole".

"What happens now?" I asked; suddenly back in my own body.

"If you accept the strength we will have, we will combine, allowing our true abilities to shine through," the dragon said.

I thought about it for a moment, and then said, "I accept".

"Then let us complete this!" the dragon said.

I then was lifted off the ground along with the dragon. We rose in a corkscrewing spin, going higher and higher, faster and faster, until everything vanished in a burst of light…

* * *

><p>Convergence Temple<p>

I slowly awoke back in the artifact chamber within the Convergence Temple.

"… Samus, Samus!" I heard Ridley saying.

"Ridley?" I replied, "What happened?"

"Well," Ridley said, "uh… how do I put this…?"

"Well, what is it?" I roared, swishing my tail in annoyance.

Wait a minute, I just_ ROARED_. And since when do I have a tail?

"I've been transformed into a dragon, haven't I?" I said.

"Yes," replied Ridley, "yes you have".

Ridley's POV

I could hardly believe what had just occurred. Samus Aran had just been transformed into a good-sized dragon. Her scale colors closely paralleled those of her Varia Suit, with shades of orange and yellow over most of her body, with a line of green across the chest, and another splash of green across the face and snout.

"Well, this is certainly different," said Samus as she spread her wings, which I saw were emerald green and had a pattern on them that looked like Chozo runes.

"Is everyone alright in there?" asked Sab Liath.

"I'm okay," I replied, "how about you Samus?"

"I'm fine, I guess," said Samus, "what do we do now?"

"The next thing you should do, Samus," said Sab Liath, "is reboot your armorsuit. To do that you must first return to your human form".

"How do I do that?" asked Samus.

"It's not too hard," Sab Liath replied, "just concentrate on it and you should shift into human form".

I watched as she closed her eyes to concentrate, and in a bright flash of light, the dragon before me was replaced with Samus standing there in her Zero Suit.

"From here, it's just a matter of starting up your suit like normal," said Sab Liath.

I saw Samus performing the boot sequence for her armor. Her Varia Suit activated like normal, with some new additions: It appeared to have crystals of various colors embedded at several locations on its surface. It was now scanned as the 'Crystal Suit'. On her status indicator on my visor, a new gauge appeared surrounding her image, labeled 'Fury Energy/Hypermode'.

"Okay, that should do it, Samus," Sab Liath said, "From now on, whenever you shape-shift into your Dragon form, your armor should change with you. Also, that other item you picked up earlier should now be useable. I would also like to point out another useful trait you've gained from your new abilities: your maximum lifespan has been greatly extended".

"Again? The Chozo DNA within me had already lengthened my life," said Samus, "by the way, Ridley, what was that item I gave you, anyway?"

I realized that with all this excitement, I hadn't installed it yet. I proceeded to do so immediately.

New ability awakened! You can now use the Wind Element! Check your logbook for more details.

"It seems I learned a new Element, Wind," I said, "What's this 'Other Item' you've got?"

"Hold on, let me check," said Samus, as she ran a system check on her armor, "Ah, this must be it. It says it's a 'Beam Hybridizer Module'. Apparently, I can use it to combine the power of my various Beam weapons to create more powerful attacks. I can use it on anywhere from just two Beams to all currently equipped Beams. There's also a warning to not combine all beams simultaneously unless absolutely necessary. It seems that I can also use this item while in Dragon form. In that case, it combines breath attacks. Hold on… here's something else… 'Drain Fang?' Let's see here… special ability… due to Metroid DNA… ability to drain energy from living creatures with a bite, or via Grapple beam".

"Wow, sounds powerful," I said, "now, where do we go from here?"

My question was answered when a portion of the wall slid back, revealing a shielded door. It was a color I'd never seen before: a shade of red-orange. A scan of the door revealed that a Magma blast would be necessary to open the door. Not sure what to do, I watched as Samus tapped some commands into her Arm Cannon, and then raised it to the door. When she fired her weapon, an orb of magma came flying out, and splattered against the door. The shield dropped, and the door cycled open, allowing us through.

* * *

><p>Samus' POV<p>

As we stepped through the door we emerged on a ledge over a seemingly bottomless pit. We couldn't see the ceiling, either, just another ledge in the distance.

"Great… how are we supposed to get past this one?" I said.

"I'm guessing we have to fly across," said Ridley.

Seeing his point, I shifted to Dragon form. I noticed that I was still wearing my armor, though its appearance had changed to be more like Ridley's.

"Alright, how do I do this?" I asked.

"It's pretty instinctual, actually," Ridley replied, "just spread your wings, close your eyes, and clear your mind, feeling the power that flows through you".

I tried this, and almost instantly I felt my wing begin to flap. Soon enough, I felt my feet lose contact with the ground. I opened my eyes, and realized I was flying!

"Good work, Samus," said Ridley as he took to the air as well, "let's get going". As we flew across the room, I was unsteady at first, but soon got the hang of it. I couldn't help doing some aerial acrobatics, since flying was such a wondrous feeling. Soon enough, Ridley and I reached the far side of the chamber. Here, we found an open portal. We stepped through and we found that we were in the… entrance chamber?

"We're back here?" asked Ridley, "now what?"

Our answer came in the form of another portal opening, and Sab Liath stepping out with Gneiss, Tempest, and Jolt trailing behind.

"Good work, both of you," said Sab Liath, "But now it is time for you to return to the world you arrived from. Your aid is still required there".

"Will you come with us to assist us?" I asked.

The odd computer strapped to his left wrist suddenly started beeping. He glanced down at it and frowned.

"Unfortunately, It seems I can not," Sab Liath said, "I'm needed elsewhere right now. Gneiss, can you and your friends guide Samus and Ridley back to Warfang? Your adventure is far from over".

"Of course, let's go guys," said Gneiss.

A new portal opened, and Gneiss led the rest of us through. We emerged back at the Nexus Shrine.

"So… what did the three of you do while we were being tested?" asked Ridley.

"We spent the time catching up with Sab Liath," said Tempest, "We've actually worked with him before".

"Yeah, but we really aren't supposed to talk about it. something about it being classified," added Gneiss.

"Is everyone ready to return to the City?" asked Jolt.

We all nodded yes, and then gathered close.

"Alright then," said Jolt, "SHOCK PORT!"

And in a massive flash of lightning, we were gone.

* * *

><p>AN: And there we go! Next time: our heroes return to Warfang... and the battle begins. See you then!


	11. Chapter 11: Return to the City

A/N: And here's chapter 11! It's time for battle, so let's get to it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Metroid or the Legend of Spyro, I only own my Original Ideas.

* * *

><p>Chapter 11: Return to the City, Time for Battle<p>

Samus' POV

Warfang, Dragon Temple

CRACK-KOOM!

Jolt's teleportation spell dropped us right outside the door of the Temple. Once we arrived, we went inside to meet with the Guardians once again.

"Ah, you've returned," Said the Chronicler, "and I see some changes in both of our guests".

"Samus? Is that you?" asked Spyro, obviously surprised at my new form.

"Who else would it be?" I retorted, amused.

"This-this is amazing, unbelievable, incredible!" said Volteer, "a complete, self-stabilized multi-form transformative ability!"

"Say what?" asked Ridley.

"He said I can shape-shift," I replied.

"Oh, okay," said Ridley.

"In any case, you've arrived back with time to spare," said Terrador, "the Dark Armies are approaching, yet they are still some distance away, and we need to prepare for battle".

"Alright," I said, "what do need us to do?"

"The plan goes like this," said Terrador, "Spyro, Cynder; you take the north end, there's a mixed squad of the Dark Master's minions coming from that direction. Gneiss, Tempest, Jolt, the three of you should head to the southern end of the city. We've got the same situation there as in the north. Samus, Ridley, you two take the eastern side. We're sending Malefor to that side as well. We need you to shore up the mole battalions there, and also it seems that's the area that our scouts say that the Space Pirates are being directed to. The other guardians and I will primarily focus on the western side, but we will also be prepared to act as reinforcements for the other fronts as necessary".

"Sounds logical," said Gneiss, "Tempest and I will go and get suited up".

"I will as well," said Jolt.

They then hurried off, and came back a short while later in suits of armor. Gneiss' was black with angular orange crystals, and Tempest's was silver with elliptical blue crystals. Jolt came out wearing what at first glance looked to be steel armor, with yellow-white gems set into it. He also came out wielding a finely crafted sword that was hovering just above his back.

We then each set off to our respective positions. I decided to stay in my dragon form for now so I could try out my new abilities. With Ridley at my side we flew over to the eastern wall of the city. I saw that the Moles were already there, and busying themselves with readying the cannons set at regular intervals along the ramparts. Malefor came over to join us, as well. As he landed I noticed that the Moles were glancing at him suspiciously… not an unexpected occurrence given what I knew about his past. From our position on the city's wall, we could clearly see a massive volcanic peak, with the space pirate dreadnought resting on its slopes. This had to be Worldheart Peak: our foe's base of operations. While I was getting prepared for the attack, Malefor came over to speak to me.

"Uh… Samus was it?" Malefor said hesitantly.

"Yes?" I replied, "Did you have a question for me?"

"How are you adjusting to… all this?" asked Malefor.

"What, having Ridley on my side, or being a dragon?" I responded.

"Both, I guess," said Malefor.

"I can answer both the exact same way," I said, "it seemed like it would be awkward at first, but I've found I can adjust to change rather quickly. It also helps that I somehow already knew how to properly use this form".

I looked out towards the soon to be battlefield outside the city's walls. In the distance, I could see a rather large army of creatures approaching. Some were small insectoid things, that knew from what Spyro and his friends had told me were called Grublins. They were being lead by larger, human sized creatures: Orcs. Behind them, came still larger greenish creatures: Trolls.

Beyond this wave, I could see that it was apparently true: the Space Pirates were marching towards Warfang as well. I was able to identify almost every variant of Space Pirate I'd fought in the past amongst the approaching army… from the most basic troopers up to Berserker Lords and even what looked like an Omega Pirate!

_'This could be trouble,'_ I thought, then said, "so… what's the plan?"

"The normal defense plan would be to wait for them to come to us, and take out their siege towers as they bring them," said the Mole manning the nearest cannon, "But there don't seem to be any among the approaching horde…"

"Well I guess that's one less thing we have to deal with," I said, "unless… don't relax yet, the Space Pirates have ships… be ready to aim high. You need to aim for the glowing triangular area on their front to take them down".

My instincts, it seems, were spot on. Not five minutes after I'd given these orders, a formation of Space Pirate APCs and Assault Skiffs came flying in. I watched as each of the cannons along the wall carefully lined up their shots, then fired. Normally, I'd expect it to take multiple shots to take down these ships, but these cannons obviously deal more damage than my missiles. As a result, the Space Pirate ships were downed in a single shot each. That took care of the first wave at least.

"Ridley, how many APCs were aboard your dreadnought?" I asked.

"Not too many actually," replied Ridley, "I'd say they'd have enough left to organize another similar attack group to the one that was just destroyed. It's odd though, the Space Pirates normally wouldn't be foolish enough to fly in such a tight formation… it makes them too easy to pick off. They'd also usually come in at more advantageous angle, to make their ship's vulnerable heat exchangers harder to hit".

"It might have something to do with the fact that the Dark Master isn't familiar with your technology," said Malefor, "it has existed within this realm for ages, and might not be familiar with how to make use of the machinery of your world".

It was our turn now… Ridley, Malefor and I took to the skies. We descended towards the front line of our enemy's ranks, and then quickly leveled out, strafing the dark armies with our elements. Working out from what I had been told about these things, a blast of Light energy would be the most efficient way to deal with them. I focused myself on that power and breathed it out. It was an interesting new experience for me. In this form, my suit had reorganized the beam weapon components into my helmet.

My blast of Light energy tore at the dark armies below, rapidly destroying them. Beside me, Malefor was blasting our enemies with what my scan visor, which seemed to activate on instinct alone, identified as 'Convexity'. It seemed massively powerful. Ridley was doing what he could with his Plasma Breath and Wind attacks, which seemed to be working fairly well, though not to the point of my or Malefor's attacks. It wasn't long before we passed towards the next section of our foes: the Space Pirates. Now that we were closer, I could see there something… different about them… I certainly don't remember the Space Pirates having clusters of dark purple crystal growing out of their bodies… nor do remember them having vestigial wings…

"Samus, stay higher when you attack these beasts," warned Malefor, "if you get too close, they'll drain you energy, leaving you with nothing but your melee attacks".

Heeded his advice, and stayed higher than the previous attack run. Even with my caution, I still felt an odd, unnatural tug deep within me. On the visor of my helmet, I noticed a bar labeled as Br. Energy slowly dropping. I flew a bit higher, and the tug vanished, accompanied by energy collector that Adam had installed earlier kicking in, refilling my breath energy.

_'Thank you Adam,'_ I thought,_ 'but from this range, I won't be able to do much damage… Wait, of course my ship!'_

I quickly activated my command visor, ordering my ship to perform an attack run on the enemies below.

From the direction of the city, I heard the familiar sound of engines. I glanced back and saw my gunship flying this way. It felt strange… seeing as in my current form, I was larger than my ship! My gunship went diving towards the Space Pirates. The main cannons charged up, and the missile racks unfurled. It then fired it weapons, the pulse laser cannons targeted to the troopers, and the missiles being fired at the stronger foes, such as the Berserker Lords.

This addition to the battle apparently caught them off guard, since they began to retreat… with the exception of the Omega Pirate. I noticed that the Omega Pirate didn't appear to have any actual Dark Crystals growing out of its body, but that the bright blue phazite armor on its body was instead dark purple. A quick scan revealed what was fairly easy to see.

_Scan Results: Morphology: Dark Omega Pirate. Target has same basic abilities as previously cataloged Omega Pirate. Primary differences: target's armor is composed of carefully shaped Dark Crystals. Note that forming the crystals in this manner has caused them to lose much of their energy draining traits. Weaknesses: Due to infusion of Dark Crystals, target is particularly weak to Light-based attacks to body beneath armor. Dark-based attacks less effective. Crystal lattice of armor plates makes them especially prone to damage caused by Sonic weapons._

Noting this, I came in to land. I then charged right towards my foe. Remembering the method that I used the last time I faced this particular type of enemy back on Tallon IV, I used the same basic strategy as I had back then, though I modified it deal to my foe's weaknesses.

I focused on summoning the Powers the Light and Shadow elements simultaneously, and then searched within myself to find where my missiles were in this form. I found them, and felt the power of this particular missile combo building up. I released it, and watched as the supercharged sonic pulse raced forward, and then surprisingly split in four, striking all four of its primary armor plate simultaneously. When the dust settled, I saw that the Omega Pirate had been thrown back about 10 meters. I knew this was my chance I rushed in, attempting to get to my foe before it recovered. Unfortunately, I was a bit too slow. The Omega Pirate got back to its feet, armed an unfamiliar weapon mounted on its right arm. It blasted me with its weapon, and now it was my turn to get thrown back.

When I recovered, I saw that I the attack had taken off _FOUR WHOLE ENERGY TANKS!_ Not only that, but my Breath Energy was almost completely drained. This made me feel downright… furious. A new message popped up on my HUD.

_Fury energy is at capacity. Fury mode can now be used._

_'Sounds like something worth trying,'_ I thought.

I triggered my fury, and felt a massive burst of power flowing through me. Another message appeared on my HUD: _Enemy forces analyzed. Optimal fury mode: Supercharge/Hypermode type, Light element. Autoselecting… done._

I felt the energy within me redouble. I then attacked. The Omega Pirate attempted to stop me, but I was now in a sort of hyperaware state and dodged its attack easily. I reached my foe and leapt towards the Omega Pirate, claws forward. I struck my foe, pinning it to the ground. I exhaled an immensely powerful beam of light energy, punching a hole straight through my foe. I then tore into the Omega Pirate with my claws. Every time I struck, part of the Omega Pirate seemed to simply evaporate away. I wasn't long before there was nothing left. Then, my fury faded, and my mind went back to moving at its normal rate.

Ridley then came running over to me.

"Samus," Ridley said, "are you alright?"

"Yes," I said, "In fact, I feel fine. It felt good to be able to literally release my pent-up fury like that".

"Samus, Ridley, we need to return to the city for now," said Malefor, "we need to plan our next step".

I nodded to him, and together we took flight back to the temple.

* * *

><p>AN: And there we go! Next time, Planning and Prep Time. See you then!


	12. Chapter 12: Planning and Prep Time

A/N: And here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Metroid or the Legend of Spyro. I only own my original ideas.

* * *

><p>Chapter 12: Planning and Prep Time<p>

Samus' POV

Ridley, Malefor, and I flew back to the Temple, and went to the central chamber.

The Guardians, Spyro, Cynder, Gneiss, Tempest, Jolt, and Ignitus joined us there. Terrador took the lead in the meeting.

"We have repelled the Dark Armies for now," said Terrador, "but we need to work out the Dark Master's next move".

"Yeah, those ships that got sent towards to our side of the city make thing more interesting" said Gneiss.

"Wait," I said, "you had to fight them too? How many were there?"

"About ten of the same type we fought back on the Kaskia Isles," said Tempest, "and about five of a different design… Why? We managed to take them all out".

"Ridley," I said, "how many ships would they have left now?"

"Hmm," said Ridley, closing his eyes in concentration, "that would mean they're out of APCs, and have… three Assault Skiffs left".

"…And the Omega Pirate?" I asked.

"That was a surprise to me as well," replied Ridley, "I honestly have no idea where that thing came from. I certainly don't remember having one of those onboard. But I think it's more important to figure out what the Dark Master has planned".

"True… what is the Dark Master anyway?" I asked, "Is it some ancient evil from this world, or…"

"I'm not sure," said Ridley, "but when it attempted to control me I couldn't shake the feeling of how truly alien its presence was".

"Alien," said Gneiss quietly to himself.

"I can tell you that the being we know as the Dark Master is not of this realm," said Malefor, "it is from beyond… beyond the most distant skies. I battled it long ago… it was only what could be described as a Cosmic Horror… It was a massive, creature that sort of resembled a flying squid, or a giant claw. It was a strange hybrid of organic and machine parts. Its ground forces looked like glowing, electrified zombies. It also twisted the creatures of this world into servants for it you use. It was a long and hard fought battle… but eventually I prevailed".

"Ah! So that's what that mural I found in Old Warfang was about," said Gneiss.

"Yes, I remember when they created that. I thought that would be the end of it… but it was only the beginning of the true nightmare," continued Malefor, "Somehow, during our battle, it had managed to worm its way past my mental defenses… and take root in my mind. I didn't realize what had happened at first, its manipulations were so subtle that I didn't realized the change that was taking place until it was too late… by the time I realized something was wrong with me, I was fully indoctrinated… I no longer had the power to resist. The rest… most of you already know the rest".

"You were sealed away within Convexity, trapped there until the Night of Eternal Darkness, when the seal was finally broken," said Spyro, "and when I felt the Dark Master's touch first hand".

"Correct. Anyway, during the lengthy time I was under its influence," said Malefor, "I discovered that its goals were two-fold. It lusted to destroy life… all life… by any means necessary. It viewed life as chaos, and itself as a force of order. Its other goal was to leave this realm… and to return to where it came from, and report back to the others of its kind".

"This isn't good," said Ridley, "Samus, remember the Portal array, how it was missing a major component?"

"Yes, it was missing a coordinate plotter and control module," I said, "Why? Wait… you don't mean…"

"Yes, that's right," said Ridley, "It's aboard the Space Pirate dreadnought… it couldn't be used for full access from this end, but if the auto-return function was used…"

"Then the Dark Master could escape," I said, "to our world".

"There's some good news though," added Ridley, "the device in question is a locked security room… and I'm the only one who can access it, since it requires not only the correct passcode, but also a retinal scan, handprint identification, DNA scan… and a keycard".

"That all sounds impressive, but with a bit of rewiring of the system I could probably hack through all that security in… twenty minutes at the most," I said, "We need to go there… and retrieve the portal control device before the Dark Master can find it. We also need to stop the Dark Master from destroying the world… how exactly would it go about doing that?"

"While I was under its influence, it had me summon forth a massive golem known a simply as the Destroyer, it would stomp along a lengthy path around the circumference of the world, to arrive back at Worldheart Peak. When the Destroyer re-entered the throat of the volcano, it would cause the Belt of Fire to expand across the world, annihilating anything and everything in its path," Malefor said, "though I doubt that that would be a viable option currently".

"Why wouldn't it be?" I asked.

"Because last time we saw that thing," said Gneiss, "It was rather badly damaged. Both of its legs were broken in half, all of dark crystals that were powering had been destroyed, and the only reason it was still moving was through the Dark Master pumping energy into it. Also, there currently isn't a Belt of Fire. But don't forget that final surprise the Dark Master sprung on us".

"Yeah," said Cynder, "just when we thought we'd defeated it, the Dark Master had one final surprise for us… just as it was pulled down into the crystal at the heart of the volcano; it released a huge blast of energy, shattering the planet apart. Together, Spyro, Gneiss, Tempest, Jolt, and I channeled our power together to heal the world. But even all five of us together weren't enough… until Malefor added his strength to the mix".

"So, let me get this straight," said Ridley, "using this 'Destroyer', the Dark Master attempted to annihilate the world by causing what sounds to me like some sort of massive volcanic eruption".

"That sounds fairly accurate," said Cyril, "Why?"

"Then he may be able to create a shortcut to this plan," said Ridley, "with the proper modifications, the Primary Reactor Core of the Dreadnought could be modified into bomb… a really big bomb".

"Wait… are you saying," Said Spyro, "Volteer, what might happen if bomb of sufficient size was set off within the volcano?"

"Assuming proper placement, and sufficient energy transfer to the surrounding magmatic body," said Volteer, "it could potentially accurately mimic the effects of the Destroyer completing its journey. It is also possible that such a detonation could potentially shatter the entire world, due to preexisting fracture lines".

"Wouldn't that be counterintuitive to its goals?" Spyro said, "If he destroys the world in this manner, how could he leave?"

"I never said that any sort of vehicle was necessary to use the portal," said Ridley.

_"Samus,"_ said Adam over my suit's private Comms channel._ "I have calculated the potential yield of such a makeshift weapon could be sufficient to cause the effects that Volteer has stated. I have also noted that an unusual change has occurred in the vicinity of the Dreadnought. The slopes of the mountain seem to have partially encased the ship. It is now solidly stuck to the mountainside. There are three major sections of the ship that are still exposed: the nose, the area around the hangar bays, and the aft portion. I have also detected unusual power fluctuations from within ship and mountain. If is advised that you investigate the Space Pirate Dreadnought immediately"._

I nodded briefly, and then informed the others of what was happening.

"Ridley, we need to get into the dreadnought, hopefully without attracting much attention" I said, "What's our best choice for an access point?"

"Hmm… there's a maintenance hatch just in front of the engine mounts," said Ridley, "it's not very big… you'd have to be in your human form to enter. Once inside, if we can reach the hangar bay, we should be able to open the doors and let in the rest of our allies, along with your gunship. From there, we can reach the security room where the Portal control is".

"Then we should get going," I said, "Terrador?"

"I shall have the Guardians at the ready," said Terrador, "Samus, Ridley, you go on ahead. We will follow".

"Thank you," I said, "Let's go".

With that the two of us took off towards Worldheart Peak, to face whatever may await us there.

* * *

><p>AN: And there we go! If you've been paying attention, you might have an idea by now what I'm implying the Dark Master to be. Anyway, next time: Samus and Ridley arrive at the Space Pirate Dreadnought. See you then!


	13. Chapter 13: Infiltration

A/N: And Here's the next Chapter! This time: We explore that derelict Space Pirate Dreadnought! I would like to note that the poor spelling on the researcher's logs are on purpose. I would also like to say that I'm sad to see that this story isn't generating more feedback.

Disclaimer: I don't own Metroid or the Legend of Spyro. I only own my original Ideas.

* * *

><p>Chapter 13: Infiltration<p>

Ridley's POV

Our group of two flew towards the volcano that the locals referred to as Worldheart Peak. Samus had switched back to her human form and was aboard her gunship. We soon came upon our goal: the Space Pirate Dreadnaught… formerly my dreadnaught. It looked like some great sea creature that had beached itself, except that the rock of the mountainside had moved to… swallow up the ship, like it was trying to make the Dreadnaught part of the mountain. We landed near the ship's stern, and quickly managed to locate the maintenance hatch. It was damaged from the crash, but still closed… at least until Samus ripped the hatch cover off with her grapple beam. I flew up to the hole, while Samus used her Space Jump to reach it.

Inside, I noticed that the emergency lights were on… that meant that the main reactor was offline… that was a bad sign. We moved through the ship, keeping an eye out for any trouble. It was eerily quiet… even with the ship running on backup systems; it shouldn't be this… silent. I decided to voice my concerns.

"Something's not right," I whispered, "Samus… we need to be extra cautious. It's far too quiet, even with the ship running on reserve power, there should be maintenance drones working down here… in fact they should be working even harder than usual, due to the condition of the ship".

"Good point," Samus replied, "let's stay alert…"

We continued down the maintenance corridor until we reached a sealed hatch. Luckily, we were right next to the engine room and that hatch was still working. We stepped out into the engine room, and started look for a way to progress. I soon found a power distribution console. I went over to examine it, and noticed something odd…

"Samus," I said, "it seems that most of the ship's power is being directed to a single location within the volcano. I can redirect enough power to open the doors leading to the hangar bay. I'll also power up the recharge stations along the way".

I then typed a series of commands into the console, and the doors across the room flickered to life, cycled open… and then promptly jammed in place. Then, the entire ship shuddered and shifted, so that everything was offset 30 degrees from level. I quickly grabbed the grating beneath my feet, while Samus slid down the now steeply angled floor and ended up standing on top of one of the engines.

"Ridley, what just happened?" Samus asked.

"I honestly have no idea," I replied, "but we need to keep moving, there's no telling how much time we have left".

She nodded in agreement, and climbed up to the door. I flew over to join her. We then continued through the ship, and reached the hangar bay without encountering any resistance. I couldn't shake the ominous feeling that abounded in this place. I also couldn't stop my memories of wandering these corridors coming back. Over to our right was the mess hall, over on the left was the barracks, and directly ahead of us was one of the main research labs. As we passed through the lab, I noticed that it had been ransacked… most of the prototypes were missing.

Amongst the various scattered leftovers, there was an active terminal. I examined it: there was a set of personal logs of one of the researchers that could be accessed.

_'Researcher's log Day 1:_

_Log 1_

_We have weathered through the storm of the Portal array, and arrived at an unknown world. We are unable to pick up any Nav beacons, and our ship has made planetfall. Lord Ridley has already ordered our maintenance teams to repair the damage done by the unstable portal. This new world is positively radiating with unknown energies. Further research is required. We've deployed a ground team to examine our surroundings. Our current location appears to be the slopes of a large stratovolcano._

_Log 2_

_Lord Ridley's discovery of these unusual crystals has opened all new avenues of research! We have recovered several mineralogical samples for classification. Our geological specialist has found that these crystals match no known minerals. Each variety seems to have different properties._

_As Lord Ridley discovered for himself, the red variety appears to have strong healing/regenerative properties. We are attempting to tap into this variety for medical purposes._

_The green variety seems to generate an energy type similar to those used in weapon power cells. We are attempting to use these for powering our weapons: initial tests have proven promising._

_The blue variety is still an enigma to us. We have so far been unable to divine a use for them._

_We have discovered two varieties of purple crystal: one much darker than the other. The lighter purple crystal seems to have an energy type that can only be described as 'untamed' it is uncertain what we could use these for. Maybe if we find a way to create a feedback loop within these crystals, we could use them as grenades?_

_The darker purple crystals seem more interesting: according to our scans, they possess an energy type similar to Phazon! With a few modifications, we should be able to use them to power our PEDs!_

_Even better, our ground team has found a truly massive 'Dark Crystal' in the depths of this volcanic peak._

_Other avenues of study include Local Fauna. We have found several apparently intelligent species. One appears to be a race of bipedal felines. A second seems to be some sort of large rodents. The third intelligent species we have found on this planet are what could only be described as dragons. Their forms are different that Ridley's. Further research will be required. I'm logging out for now; I wish to be there when they extract that crystal from the heart of the volcano._

_Log 3_

_The false leader has been disposed of… Ridley was a weakling, not worthy of basking in our Master's glory… Not even worthy of being slain by the Master. I have been given new orders to create a fitting form for the Master, as his last one was cruelly stolen away from him. We shall not fail at our task… this world must be cleansed of the useless worms that crawl its surface._

_Day 2:_

_Log 4_

_Our plans are progressing… using previously catalogued data, I have managed to re-create the Omega Pirate. We presented this to our Master as a potential body for him. It did not meet his requirements, so we placed into our new Army instead. We shall continue to work to create what he wishes. I'm logging out now. My head hurts…_

_Log 5_

_Succes! We have manged to create a form that fit our Master's needs. It a new, mor powerful version of [REDACTED]. He seemed pleased. My head fells painful almost constant nowe._

_Lawg 6_

_sumtings rong. I can't tink srait. matser not ned us. we axspnedbel. sumwon hpel us!_

_Dae tree:_

_Can beary white now somwin innywun svae us!_

_ERROR: LOG TERMINATED UEXPECTEDLY'_

"Samus, I think I found why we haven't encountered any of the crew," I said, "according to these logs, it looks like they underwent some sort of rapid mental decay. What happened to them after that, I just don't know…"

"No one deserves to be destroyed in this sort of way, not even the Space Pirates," said Samus, "but there's nothing we can do about what happened. We need to move on".

We continued through the ship, soon reaching the hangar bay. As we entered, I thought I saw something moving out of the corner out of eye. But when I looked over, nothing was there… I decided that this place was just making me jumpy. We headed over to the hangar doors, and armed the explosive bolts to so that we wouldn't have to deal with the likely faulty controls. There was a loud bang as the bolts did their thing, and the door slid off its tracks and fell towards the ground below. As this happened, we heard a strange shriek from behind us. I spun around quickly and caught sight of some fleeing creature… strange; it almost looked like it was wearing a tattered lab coat.

From the direction of the outer doors, I heard the sound of wings. I glanced back and saw the Guardians, Spyro, Cynder, Gneiss, Tempest, Jolt, and Malefor flying in.

* * *

><p>"Good work," said Terrador.<p>

"Yes, yes… good going, pat on the back, all that other rubbish," said Cyril, "we need to keep going".

"You're right," I said, "we should be careful though, we haven't found any of the crew yet, though we found a journal that indicated that the crew seems to have undergone some form of rapid mental degradation. I also just spotted some unknown creature just a moment ago".

"Mental degradation?" asked Malefor.

"Yeah," I replied, "from the logs, it seems that over the course of the past couple days the mental state of the ship's crew decayed rapidly… at first, they simply became reverent towards the Dark Master, but the last couple logs were barely readable".

"Strange… this makes no sense," said Malefor, "I'd think the Dark Master would use these new minions of his to their full advantage. What purpose would rotting away their minds serve?"

"I've got no idea either, but we need to keep moving," said Samus, "Ridley, where do we go from here?"

I considered for a moment, used a loose power cell to jumpstart the map console, and answered.

"Everyone: while we were in the engine room, I noticed that almost all of the ship's power has been redirected to a location deep within the volcano. The shortest route to the area in question is straight through the ship," I said, "we can also reach the security room where the portal control can be found along this route here. The keycard we need to access the security room can be found in this chamber along the way".

I highlighted the path we'd need to take.

"The main issue is that the doors along the path we need to take may not be open," I said, "Samus, you should probably download the map so we can use it whenever we need it. There are ways around the doors however… some of us are small enough to slip through the vents and small maintenance shafts. Malefor and the Guardians can move along the main route. I selected that route since it's large enough for you to pass through".

"Alright," said Terrador, "Spyro, if we do need to split up, you and your friends should go with them. They may need your assistance".

"Okay, let's go," said Samus.

We then climbed up to the passageway leading deeper into the ship. We reached our next goal with nothing more than a couple minor scares caused by something scrabbling around behind the walls. We soon arrived at the area where the keycard should be: my former private chambers.

The doors had been forced open, and it looked like the room had been ransacked. I pushed some of the debris out of the way, and found what I was looking for: a replica of a Chozo bust. I picked it up, and flipped the hidden switch on the bottom, releasing the latch within. I then flipped opened the top of the bust, retrieving the keycard from inside. Just then, an alarm went off, and a security forcefield was activated. I was the only one inside of it.

"What's going on?" asked Jolt.

"Uh… sorry, I forgot about the security I set up for this thing," I said, "Luckily I can just override the system".

I stepped over to the console to use my security clearance to allow us to leave. I received an error message almost immediately.

_Error: security I.D. invalid. Clearance code 'Ridley' has been revoked. Security teams have been informed of you unauthorized access, and are on their way to your position to detain you_.

I then heard a loud banging coming from the vents. Something started pounding on the vent cover, which then went flying across the room.

'Uh oh,' I thought.

As we watched, some creature dropped out of the vents. It took me a moment to recognize it, since it was so different from how I'd know them to be: it was a Space Pirate! Well, it might have been a Space Pirate at one point. Now though? I'm fairly certain that I'd never seen a Space Pirate with insect-like wings... or a scorpion tail. It was too small as well… it stood no taller than me in my current state; and it was oddly bestial looking. Where it should have had hands, it appeared to have oversized pincers instead. It was also wearing the badly damaged remnants of a suit of security armor. I took a scan to confirm my suspicions. The results were surprising.

_Morphology: Unknown: Species not in catalogue. Scan target bears some genetic markers similar to Space Pirates. It appears to have been highly modified to achieve its current state. It seems to have undergone extreme and rapid genetic regression (De-Evolution). Other markers indicate that this was a failed attempt to tap into abilities that the Space Pirates had evolved out of needing. Unable to fully determine target's abilities: caution is advised._

I prepared the fight this creature solo, since everyone else was on the wrong side of the forcefield. I crouched slightly, and waited for my foe to make the first move. I didn't have long to wait. Almost immediately, it snarled at me, and leapt forwards. I jumped sideways then struck at this beast with my sharp tailblade.

I failed to take into account how hard its carapace would be, so my attack just glanced off. Now was my foe's turn to go on the attack. It took a swipe at me with its scorpion-like tail. I quickly ducked down, and felt as the attack bounced off my durable crest. I then noticed some acrid-smelling fluid dripping off my head and onto the floor. Where it landed, the metal started smoking. This meant that this creature was in fact venomous, and that its venom would most definitely be extremely lethal.

With this in mind, I decided that it would might safer to fight it from range. I dodged backwards, took aim at my foe, and breathed out a combination of all the elements I currently wielded, creating a Plasmic Gale. The warped Pirate saw the attack coming, but reacted too slow to escape the blast. When the blast dissipated, I saw that my foe was somehow still standing, though its carapace was badly damaged, its wings had burned away, and the stinger on its tail had actually melted, blunting it. I then rushed back in, triggering my energy blade, and stabbed my enemy right in the center of the chest. This time, the previous damage to the creature caused its carapace to shatter at my attack. My tail pierced straight through the creature, but then something strange occurred: it seemed to just dissolve away, not even leaving behind a pile of ash. The containment field then shut off.

I stepped back out into the hall where the others were waiting for me.

"Young Ridley," asked Terrador, "are you alright?"

"I believe so, Terrador," I said.

"What was that thing in there?" asked Torché.

"I think it might have once been part of the crew," I replied, "I guess that explains why the logs I found were getting so hard to read: the Space Pirates were literally being regressed to an earlier evolutionary state, thereby losing most of their ability for rational thought. From what I could tell, that particular creature was a failed experiment".

"I've never seen the Dark Master do something like this before," said Malefor, "We should keep an eye out, if I know anything, that may have been the least of the horrors we'll discover here".

We all nodded in agreement, and continued through the ship. We soon entered another room I was intimately familiar with: the Med Bay/Cloning facility where the Space Pirates had rebuilt me… several times. There were six neutral buoyancy tanks of varying sizes where they had grown several spare bodies in the past. All the tanks were empty.

'These tanks shouldn't be empty,' I thought, 'last time I was in here, all of these tanks were filled".

I suddenly had a thought.

"Everyone, wait here for a moment," I said, "I need to check something".

I then hurried over into a side room, and examined the terminal.

_Biocontainment breach detected in main Med Bay: emergency subroutine 15-Ω-73 has been activated. Registry error: provide bio-sample to register as master copy._

_'15-Ω-73… just as I hoped,'_ I thought.

I then placed my paw into the sampler, and felt the tiny prick as the device registered me.

_Thank you. sample retrieved: emergency subroutine 15-Ω-73 is now fully active. 1 rogue body detected._

I then headed back out, my plan set into motion. When I got back to the others, I saw that Samus had vanished.

"Where's Samus?" I asked.

"She said she was going to scout ahead," answered Cynder, "What were you doing back there, anyway?"

"I'll tell you later," I said, "Anyway, let's keep going".

The others gave me some odd looks, but followed along behind me. Before too long we finally reached the security room. I stepped up to the door, and began the process of unlocking it. Luckily, this console was isolated from the main security system, and still recognized my clearance codes.

First, I inserted the keycard. Second, typed in the passcode. Then came the various scans: first my paw, then my eye, and then finally the genetic scan. The door then opened, revealing Samus standing inside, her arm cannon glowing green.

"Hello Ridley," said Samus jokingly, "What took you so long?"

"Samus? How'd you get in there?" I asked.

"The normal way… even secure area need ventilation ducts," Samus replied, "anyway, let's get that control device… oh, I hope you don't mind, but I borrowed the data for the Nova Beam, is that alright?"

I nodded in agreement, then decided to grab a copy of that data for myself.

_Nova Beam Aquired! Checking… Converting… Earth Element Aquired!_

I then stepped over to the where I'd left I came here for. Conveniently, despite the crash and everything that occurred in its aftermath, it hadn't moved.

I reached over to retrieve it, only to be shoved out of the way. I looked to see what had pushed me: It turned out to be a different variant of one of those mutant Pirates. As I watched, this creature grabbed to Portal Control module… and then vanished into thin air! I quickly switched to the Thermal/X-Ray Visor. This caused the creature to become visible again. I watched as it leapt away into the maintenance ducts, vanishing into the bowels of the ship.

"Damn," I said angrily, "it must have been waiting of us! Now we'll never catch it!"

"Why not?" asked Gneiss.

"Right next to this chamber," I said, "is the central air recycler for the entire ship. It could have gone anywhere from there".

"Well, we do have one lead," said Samus, "there's that massive power signature in the depths of the volcano… it's definitely worth checking out".

"Alright, then it's time for to take a shortcut," I said, pulling up the map, "based off the current orientation of the ship, we can get into the volcano via this airlock, here. From there, we can head into the excavation site. To reach the airlock quickly, we'll have to pass through the command deck…"

We headed out again, our new path set. We passed down the halls, climbed up the elevator shaft, and then through the increasingly strange chambers… it seemed like the stone of the mountain was intruding into the ship. As a result, it looked more like we were in a cave than the interior of a ship. We soon reached the command deck… I barely recognized it. It had become a cavern, complete with stalactites and stalagmites. Illumination was provided by clusters of glowing crystals all throughout the chamber. Even stranger, there were some odd metal spikes with tripod legs. Impaled upon these spikes, there were Space Pirates, some normal, some mutated.

"What happened to this place?" I asked.

"I do not know young dragon," said Terrador.

"I have a theory," said Gneiss, "this may sound odd, but I think it might be the land attempting to protect itself. When this ship crashed, it cut a furrow into the ground. Think of the world like a body. When you get a cut, it scabs over. This might be the equivalent. As for those spikes, I've never seen anything like those before".

"I have," said Malefor, "they are devices used by the Dark Master. Remember those electric zombies I mentioned? These horrid devices are how the Dark Master creates them".

Our discussion was interrupted when several varied creatures ranging from small to quite large came into the chamber through various passages. They all appeared to be highly warped versions of the Space Pirates. We prepared for battle, but were surprised when one of these mutated Pirates spoke! When it spoke, it did so haltingly, and there was a strange resonance to its voice, as if it was just acting as a mouth for someone else.

"The false master… returns," said the apparent leader of the group, "you shall not… interfere. The master shall… cleanse this world… in a storm of fire. You are not worthy… of basking in our master's glory. We… shall not… allow you to… continue".

The battle then commenced. I switched my energy blade on, and waited for our foes to come to us. The warped Pirates rushed us, and we retaliated with our various abilities. Terrador was knocking the creatures into the air with his horns, and then following up with a bash from his mace-like tail. Cyril and Volteer had teamed up, with Cyril impaling several targets with spikes of ice, and Volteer following up with bolts of electricity. The end result was that the electricity chained across all the impaled enemies. Tempest and Torché had teamed up as well, with Tempest spinning and generating a tornado, while Torché breathed fire into the tornado, creating a literal firestorm.

Gneiss stabbed his tail into the ground, and a moment later a plume of magma burst out of the ground, immolating his target. Jolt was unleashing concentrated beams of light, burning straight through the closest enemies to him. Spyro and Cynder seemed to be supercharging themselves, and started glowing with purple energy. They then started blasting away at the enemies with powerful beams of Convexity energy, and then followed up with a long chain of melee attacks. Malefor seemed to be trying to keep his targets guessing by frequently switching between different elements. Samus appeared to be trying the same strategy as Malefor, only with her Beam weapons and missiles. I charged in, first electrocuting my nearest enemy, following up with a slash and stab with my energy blade.

With our combined efforts, we cleared out the mutant pirates. Just when we thought we were in the clear, the strange metal spikes impaling the Space Pirate corpses retracted into their bases… and the 'corpses' go to their feet. I noticed that these things had been modified in some way, implanted with cybernetics. They shambled towards us like zombies, and started cracking with energy. We fought our way through these things as well, but one got a little too close to me, and released an EMP, temporarily shorting out my armor and stunning me. I could only watch as Samus shifted focus to aid me. With that, the chamber was finally clear.

P_ower suit (Type D) reboot complete, Status: All systems normal._

"Well, that saw certainly different," I said, "We're dealing with Cyborg zombies now? What's next; sentient omnicidal starships from beyond the galactic rim?"

"At this point, I wouldn't doubt it," said Samus, "anyway, according my scans, these spikes are designed to implant nanites into corpses, thus reanimating them in the manner we just saw. This tech is unlike anything I've ever seen".

"I see, while this in interesting, we must keep moving," said Terrador, "Young Ridley, where do we go from here?"

"Down this corridor over here," I said, "or should I say through this cave?"

I lead the others down towards the airlock, noticing that we were now following a thick cable. We came to our exit from the ship, finding that the airlock doors had been removed from their tracks. We stepped down the boarding ramp and into the actual mountain. Here we could see several cables extending from the ship, and trailing off into the depths of the volcano.

"This is," I said, "the true point of no return…"

"You okay?" asked Samus.

"I… to be honest, I'm positively terrified," I said, "How do you do this all the time, Samus? How to you weather through all this so stoically?"

"Simple, I don't," Samus replied, "just like anyone else, I feel trepidation about facing off against unknown foes, but I have learned to put my fears aside, and just focus on defeating my enemies".

"Yes, Young Ridley," said Terrador, "all warriors feel fear at one time or another. But the truly great one can face their fears, and overcome them".

I thought on their words for a moment, and then came to a decision.

"Let's go," I said, "The Dark Master won't wait forever".

With that, we trekked deeper into the caverns… towards whatever lay ahead.

* * *

><p>AN: And there we go! By now it might be fairly obvious what I'm Implying the Dark Master to be. Anyway, next time: The final battle!

See you then!


	14. Chapter 14: Heart of Darkness

A/N: And here's the next Chapter. Time for the Boss battle! Also, I'd really appreciate some feedback.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Metroid or Legend of Spyro Series. I only own my original ideas.

* * *

><p>Chapter 14: Heart of Darkness<p>

Samus' POV

We hurried down through the caves. As we ran along, more and more power leads joined the ever-growing bundle. We hadn't seen any enemies since we entered the caves, so that meant that either we'd defeated them all, or more likely we were heading into a trap. Either way, we eventually reached some sort of energy barrier. Oddly enough, it didn't stop most from passing: only the Guardians were prevented from entering.

"Interesting," said Volteer, "some form of selective exclusionary security barrier curtain…"

"Huh?" said Ridley.

"He said it's a shield that will allow specific entities to pass," I said.

"The eight of you, continue forwards," said Terrador, "we will make sure you are not followed".

"Thank you," I said, "Let's go!"

We continued deeper into the caverns, and soon came to some strange device: it was a circular platform that sort of looked like a recharge station, except that it instead of power cells, it was hooked up to several crystals. I stepped onto the platform, not quite sure what would occur.

_Suit fully recharged. Missiles refilled._

* * *

><p>We eventually reached a huge chamber with a massive Dark Crystal, along with a Nova Beam drill. There was one more item within the chamber: some sort of massive containment vessel. Other than the one connected to Nova drill, all the power cables were connected to the containment chamber.<p>

'This is it,' I thought.

Suddenly a truly malevolent voice came from seemingly everywhere at once.

"WELL, WELL, WELL," said the voice, "OUR GUESTS HAVE ARRIVED. WE SEE YOU BROUGHT OUR OLD HOST BODY, HOW KIND OF YOU… BUT IT IS NO LONGER NEEDED. YOU'RE JUST IN TIME… SOON, WE SHALL BE LEAVING THIS FEEBLE REALM BEHIND, AND WE SHALL BRING THE REST OF OUR KIND TO PURGE THIS WORLD OF ITS INFESTATION OF PARASITES… NOT THAT ANY OF YOU WILL SURVIVE TO SEE THAT GLORIOUS DAY".

The seals on the containment chamber cycled open with a series of loud clanks. This was followed by a loud hiss at the pressure lock released.

"Be ready for anything," I said.

The containment chamber's doors ground open slowly. I could not tell what was within: all I could see were three glowing points: two eyes, and one I couldn't tell it was. The entity within began to emerge, punctuating each motion with a single word.

"ASSUMING…"

A massive clawed hand emerged from the darkness, gripping the edge the containment chamber with a loud CLANG.

I recognized that hand.

"CONTROL…"

A second hand emerged, gripping the opposite side of the chamber with a similarly loud sound.

_'It can't be,'_ I thought, _'can it?'_

"OF…"

A clawed foot emerged, shaking the entire mountain as it stomped down.

"THIS…"

The second foot emerged, and again the entire mountain quaked.

"FORM!"

Its head emerged, revealing it to be just what I expected: It was a copy of Ridley! It was at least three times as large as Ridley normally was, and made Malefor look miniscule by comparison.

The Dark Master finished emerging from his chamber, revealing exactly what the glowing point on its chest was: it was the main power reactor from the Space Pirate Dreadnaught! As I watched, a series of armor plates unfurled to cover its chest. I then realized something else: this creature looked strangely… unfinished. There was barely any flesh on it metallic bones. Its head was the least finished part… it was nothing more than a metal skull with an array of cameras forming each 'eye'. Instead of a normal tailblade this... abomination had what looked like a rapidly rotating drill the size of a small bus.

"It seems we were incorrect about the bomb," I said, "there isn't one".

I didn't allow this creature to intimidate me, instead I did what I always did when I encountered a new foe: I scanned it.

_Scan Results: Infinity Dark Ridley. Super charged, mega-sized, and ultra powerful. This cybernetic variant of Ridley (95% synthetic, 5% organic) has been engineered to be significantly stronger than any previous version. It has been infused with massive amounts of Dark Crystals, as well as the entity known as the Dark Master. It can wield all known beam weapon types, as well as Missiles and Power Bombs. Additionally, scans indicate that it can wield Convexity, along with other abilities that cannot be classified. Threat rating: Beyond Classification._

_Possible Weakness: Plasma Fusion Reactor within chest cavity. Retraction of chest armor will be required to damage this area. If the reactor's heat sinks are damaged, then the armor plates will have to be retracted to prevent core overheat. The heat sinks are located on target's back, between the wings. Recommended strategy: Distract target and strike it from behind._

The Dark Master smirked at us, and then continued his earlier rant.

"WE HAVE BEEN OBSERVING YOUR PROGRESS," said the Dark Master, "YOU HAVE NO CHANCE TO DEFEAT US. ESPECIALLY AFTER… THIS!"

The Dark Master then released a pulse of energy straight at me, and I didn't have time to evade. It struck me directly, and knocked me to my knee. When I recovered, I noticed that no damage had been dealt, but a message was flashing across my visor.

_Error: Form Lock has been engaged. You are currently unable to transition to Dragonform. Morph Ball abilities can still be used. Analyzing: to allow transformation once again, you must remove the source of the Form Lock from your proximity. Source of Lock: the Dark Master._

"Everyone, split up!" I shouted, "We need to divide his attention!"

The Dark Master leapt towards us, and we quickly scattered. Spyro, Ridley, Malefor, and I ended up on the left, while the others ended up on the right. From here, I could see the heat sinks we'd need to target: they almost looked like… bomb targets! And seeing as this enemy seemed to be comprised primarily of metal…

I knew I probably had only one shot at this… I ran straight towards its back leg, jumped into the air, and flipped into the Morph Ball. As I made contact with its leg, I triggered the Spider Ball, and started rolling up its leg. I soon reached its thigh, and then transitioned into its back, where I descended into a small channel along its spine. I rolled up the channel to the first bomb slot. When I reached it, I placed a bomb, which caused the heat sink to overload. This also caused flames to start ejecting from the vents on either side of the channel. The Dark Master suddenly reeled back in pain. I quickly used the Spider Ball to prevent myself from being shaken off. I then repeated the process for the other two heat sinks. Once I completed that, I boosted off of the Dark Master's back, and flipped back to my normal state.

I turned back around just in time to watch the Dark Master to fall heavily to the ground, and saw as its chest plate retracted, exposing the power core.

"It's exposed!" I yelled, "Hit it with everything you've got!"

And we did… Spyro and Cynder were supercharging themselves again, and started blasting our foe with Convexity. Tempest and Jolt teamed up and, using their elements, created a complete thunderstorm. Gneiss, meanwhile took to the air and started barrel rolling, then covered himself in a shell of molten rock, which due to the rotation, formed into a drill, slamming straight into the power core. Malefor started attacking the Dark Master with massive blasts of energy. I started blasting the Dark Master with the Annihilator Beam. All this put together sent the Dark Master reeling back, damaged but not defeated. The Dark Master recovered from out combined attacks, and then started gathering energy around itself. As we watched, it generated a plate of dark crystalline armor to cover its chest. It was formed in such a way to provide sufficient venting for the power core. Also, steam started spewing from ports on both of its flanks: one of these ports was missing its cover. My suit's sensors picked up on this, and informed me of my enemy's new traits.

_Warning: Target's chest armor will refract all known beam types. Searching… Target has activated emergency venting for power core. Power Core Stabilizer nodes can be accessed via these vents. ERROR: Vents are approximately 50% diameter of the Morph Ball. Companion suit (version D) has compression field installed._

_'Companion suit?'_ I thought, _'Of course, Ridley!'_

"Ridley," I said, "I need you to enter the vents on that overgrown imitation of your body. You'll have to use the Compression Field".

"What!" replied Rildey, "Go inside of it? Why?"

"We can now target the stabilizers for the power core," I said, "But we have to hit them from the inside. You're the only one who can reach them".

He looked hesitant, but soon resolved himself.

"Alright, I'll do it," said Ridley, "How do I get in?"

"There's an open hatch on its left flank," I said, "that should allow you to reach your target".

With that, Ridley gave me a quick nod, and ran straight towards our foe.

* * *

><p>Ridley's POV<p>

_'I can't believe I'm about to do this,'_ I thought.

I rushed towards the left side of this oversized cybernetic copy of me, and then took to the air, flying straight towards the vent. I reached it, grabbing the edge of the hole. I could already tell that even with the Compression Field, this was going to be a tight squeeze. I then triggered the Compression Field, and then hauled myself into the hole. I held my wings tight against my body, trying to give myself as much extra space as possible. I soon reached my first obstacle: a series of pistons whose exact purpose I could not determine. I had to maneuver carefully to avoid being crushed. After this, I reached the interior of the first stabilizer unit. It was labeled '1 of 4'.

'_Okay, I'm here,'_ I thought, _'now how do I break this thing?'_

My answer came when my suit chimed in, informing me of what to do.

_Scanning: target vulnerable to Fury attack. Suggested type: Fire Fury, Burst Type. Also, due to effects of Compression field, cost of Fury attacks are reduced to ¼ normal values, while retaining normal power. Fury energy will also be gradually refilled by converting Breath energy._

_'Well, that works,'_ I thought.

I concentrated for a moment, and then unleashed my Fury. It built up, and then burst outwards like a Power Bomb. As a result, the machinery around me was destroyed, and was the hatch blocking the path forwards. I was forced to grab on tight to the floor as the Dark Master suddenly writhed around.

As soon as I could, I hurried into the next passage. In this area, I had to rush across a series of exposed electrical conduits when they weren't actively arcing. I reached the second Core Stabilizer which was right next to a power junction box, and this time unleashed an Electricity Fury, and then hurried into the next passage as the chamber became filled with toxic coolant.

I climbed up the passageway, and came to a split in the tunnel. The right path was blocked off, so I took the left tunnel. Shortly thereafter, I came upon the central Power Core. I saw that to continue, I'd have to cross a narrow catwalk that circled around the back side of the Core. I started across the catwalk, noticing the Maintenance bots working to repair the damaged core. Luckily, they seemed to have no interest in me, and I was able to get through the chamber without much difficulty.

I then reached the third Stabilizer, which was located adjacent to some large fans. I unleashed my Wind fury, which overstressed the fans, causing their motors to explode, thus further destabilizing the power core. I hurried into the next tunnel as fire started jetting into the chamber I'd left.

I moved down the next cramped passageway, this time dodging past an array of Beam emitters, each one generating a different type of energy. Each one of them was being fired in differing sequences, probably indicating what kind of attack the Dark Master was using. The shattered glass and twisted metal lying around in this area meant that there were originally pipes connecting the emitters to the ceiling. There was no way around it… I was going to have to pick my way across the emitters when they weren't firing. It wasn't easy, but somehow I made it across without getting my tail singed…. Or frozen… or anything else for that matter.

I then arrived at the final Stabilizer. I built up my power, and then released my Plasma Fury. It was now time for me to get out of here. I located the escape tunnel, and got out just as the final Stabilizer detonated. As I landed on the ground outside, I deactivated the Compression Field.

I turned around just in time to see the results of my hard work. As I watched, the crystalline armor on my foes chest started glowing, and then exploded apart as the power core was almost completely destroyed. Unfortunately, it seems that while I was in there, everyone except Samus and me had been trapped in some sort of stasis field.

* * *

><p>Samus' POV<p>

_'Huh, that was even more effective than I expected,'_ I thought.

Amazingly, despite the grievous amount of damage we deal it, the Dark Master wasn't down yet, in fact, I could see that the damage we'd dealt was being actively repaired. Instead, it seemed we'd just made it mad… and now it was focused on the only other conscious member of our group: Ridley.

"YOU," said the Dark Master, "YOU SHOW AN IRKSOME TALENT FOR SURVIVAL…"

"Yeah, I know," taunted Ridley, "just ask Samus…. She killed me… what was it, five times?"

"Seven if you count that cheap imitation on the Bottle Ship and that X-Parasite copy from the BSL Station," I said, "I have to say, I always admired you resilience to come back from being repeatedly vaporized".

I could tell the Dark Master was getting really enraged at how causal we were acting… hopefully angry enough that it would drop its guard.

"GRAAH! ENOUGH OF THIS," Said the Dark Master, "WE SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS WHEN YOU RESISTED OUR CONTROL, BUT WE WILL NOT MAKE THAT ERROR AGAIN, PREPARE TO DIE!"

What happened next I had no time to react to: before either of us could do anything, the Dark Master struck Ridley directly with his tail drill. All I could see for a moment was a massive cloud of dust. When it cleared, I was truly amazed at what I saw: Ridley was standing on top of a thin pillar of rock in the center of a huge blast crater. He appeared to be completely unharmed.

"WHAT?" shouted the Dark Master, "HOW?"

At this moment, I was asking myself the same questions.

"Emergency subroutine 15-Ω-73," said Ridley casually, blowing some dust off his claws, "It is one of the few things I'm still thankful to the Space Pirates for. It is a security subsystem programmed to my genetic code. It was created in case one of the spare bodies they were constructing for me got out of containment without my mind in it. Simply put, it makes so that the 'rogue body' cannot harm Space Pirate tech or personnel. A special subsection of this system pertains to me alone: If one of these 'rogue bodies' escapes containment while I was already in a different body, I.E. the 'master body', it would be unable to do me any real harm, while my attacks against it would be extra effective. It seems that you have enough organic components to count as a rogue body".

_'Well, that's a nice surprise,'_ I thought, _'we've just gotten an unexpected advantage…'_

Ridley then charged the Dark Master, lighting his energy blade along the way. He started slashing away, each attack dealing an inordinate amount of damage. Unfortunately, before long the Dark Master caught him with a swipe of his massive paw, knocking him into the cavern wall. It seems that while he couldn't be harmed directly, indirect damage would still work. As a result, Ridley was knocked out cold.

_'…Or not. It looks like I'm the last one standing,_' I thought, _'what options do I have left? Wait, what was that warning attached to the Beam Hybridizer Module? 'Do not combine all beams together at once unless the situation is truly dire,' or something like that? It's worth a try…'_

I made my decision… I opened my beam selection… and hit SELECT ALL.

_Warning: activating this setting will overload weapon systems and cause system to require reboot. Continue? Y/N_

I selected 'Yes'.

_Oblivion Cannon arming: please wait._

The components of my arm cannon started rearranging themselves into an unfamiliar combination. A nine-fingered metal claw extended from the barrel, a ring of energy coils appeared near the base of the cannon. The energy lines along the barrel of the cannon glowed with the colors of every beam simultaneously. All 255 of my Missiles, every single Power Bomb I was carrying, and 1400 units of suit energy dumped into my arm cannon to fuel the coming attack.

_Oblivion Cannon armed: Fire when ready._

I took aim at the Dark Master, took a deep breath, and fired my cannon. The blast from my weapon shot forwards with unimaginable force, pushing me back about ten feet while the cannon fired. The chaotic maelstrom of raw energy that blasted the Dark Master cannot be accurate described. The attack utterly destroyed its body. All that was left behind was a shadowy afterimage burned into my retinas. Then I realized that it wasn't an afterimage: there really was a shadow floating there. About this time, the stasis field containing my allies faded. They stepped over to my side.

"Give it up Dark Master," I said, "You're finished".

"YOU… HAVE NOT WON," gasped the Dark Master, "WE SHALL FIND… ANOTHER WAY TO PURGE THIS WORLD OF ITS INFESTATION…"

With that, it started… compressing itself? It squeezed itself into a small black ball of… I don't know what. I knew that if I was going to learn what this thing was, I didn't have much time.

_Scan Results: Entity: Dark Master. A Dark Creature of unknown origins. It appears to be the physical representation of a mind mass containing an uncountable number of minds. Its traits include: Mind control, Corruption, Ability to copy the traits of others. No further information can be found._

The Dark Master then emitted a pulse of energy, causing a small swirling portal to appear in midair. The Dark Master then passed through the portal, which closed behind it.

_Form Lock disengaged. Weapon systems are now rebooting._

_'Great… it escaped, and I've got no idea where to,'_ I thought.

"Samus," said Spyro, "Are you alright?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine but the Dark Master escaped!" I said, "I can't let it get away, I've got a reputation to preserve".

"Don't… worry Samus," said Ridley, slowly and shakily getting to his feet, "You'll catch up to him eventually".

"Ridley!" I said, "How are you feeling, anything broken?"

"I don't think so… I guess I survived again," said Ridley, "I'm more concerned about how we're getting home. I didn't see the Dark Master having the Portal Control in his possession, so where is it?"

As if in direct response to his question, a small mutated Pirate dropped down from the cave ceiling… at it was carrying the Control Device! It then did something unexpected: it slowly approached Ridley… and bowed! It then started speaking, albeit in a rather broken manner.

"L… Lord Ridley," said the mutated Pirate, "I… I knew you would… return. I… I managed to avoid being… fully controlled by… that dark creature… I made sure… it could not… have the device… it belongs to you".

With that, the mutated pirate gave the Portal Control to Ridley.

"Thank you," said Ridley, "What will you do now? How many are there left… like you?"

"We will stay here… within this mountain," said the mutated Pirate, "There are… very few of us left… only a small… number of us escaped… the control. It seems to have had… the opposite of its… intended purpose… on those who remain… we now wish for peace".

"That is good to hear," said Ridley, "thank you again".

"I shall be… returning to the… others now… your path takes you… far beyond our… reach," said the mutated Pirate, "but you shall… always be welcome back".

With that, the mutated pirate spread its insect-like wings and flew back to the depths of the caverns.

* * *

><p>It was time to return as well. We headed back up the way we came in, and found the Guardians awaiting us.<p>

"Ah, the heroes return," said Terrador, "What has transpired in the Heart of the World?"

"That," I said, "is a very long story. Do you think we could return to the Temple so that we can explain everything in a more comfortable location?"

"Of course," said Terrador, "Guardians, move out!"

We then headed out of the mountain, and out through the dreadnaught, to the hangar bay. The Guardians, and every dragon other than Ridley took to the skies, flying back towards the city. Ridley and I boarded my Gunship, with the same destination in mind.

* * *

><p>AN:And there we go! Have you figured out what the Dark Master is yet? The statment it said as it emerged from the containment chamber is the biggest hint yet. If you haven't gotten it yet, I shall reveal the truth next chapter. See you then!


	15. Chapter 15: Upgrades, and Finale

A/N: And here we are the final chapter! It is finally time to reval the truth of the Dark Master's identity. Ready? Then let's go!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Metroid or Legend od Spyro series. I only own my original ideas.

* * *

><p>Chapter 15: Upgrades, and Finale<p>

Samus' POV

We arrived back at in Warfang, and entered the Temple. We immediately found we had a guest… make that two guests! Sitting next to the Pool of Visions were the Chronicler Ignitus, and Sab Liath.

"Welcome back, all of you," said Ignitus, "I see you were successful in stopping the Dark Master".

"For now at least," I said, "we destroyed the body it was using as a host, but he escaped through some sort of portal".

"No matter, we have it on the run," said Sab Liath, "and the scan data you managed to get of it will likely prove invaluable in tracking it down".

"But we don't even know what exactly it is!" said Ridley.

"True, even I don't know that," said Malefor.

"Nevertheless, the group I represent has in vested interest in stopping these things," Sab Liath said, "tell me have you ever seen anything like… this?"

With that, he raised his left foreleg, which still had that strange computer strapped to it. He pushed a few buttons, queuing up a hologram. I sort of looked like some strange half organic spaceship, which was shaped vaguely like a squid… or maybe a claw? I recognized it immediately.

"That's one of the Leviathans from the Phazon War," Ridley and I said.

"That's the creature I fought all those years ago… that is the Dark Master's true form!" said Malefor.

"That looks like the creature Malefor is shown fighting in that mural in the Old City," said Gneiss.

Sab Liath considered all our answers before responding.

"Samus and Ridley are correct, in this case," said Sab Liath, "but the other answers you gave, this confirms for me what I'd already suspected: these entities are working across multiple dimensions. This is not good at all. We need to track them to their source, to keep them from spreading any further than they already have. Samus, I have a job offer for you".

"Really?" I said, "What kind of job?"

"I would like you to help the investigation into the source of these dark entities. Of course, you'd be well funded, but I'm fairly certain that you'd want to take it up no matter what," said Sab Liath.

"And if I simply wish to return home?" I asked.

"You can do that if you wish," Sab Liath replied, "but please consider the facts: do you really think your Galactic Federation would take you back with your oldest enemy at your side? While I'm sure you still have people who you can trust amongst the Federation, they are only a few voices amongst the many. Besides, do you really like the path the Federation has been taking recently? Engaging in those highly illegal experiments? At this point, considering you complete disappearance for an entire week, and your theft of Federation property, do you they'd take you back willingly? And given your current genetic arrangement, they'd likely be more interested in detaining and dissecting you than hiring you".

"Hold on," I said, "What Federation property have I stolen?"

"Your ship's A.I.," Sab Liath said, "even if it is an old friend of yours, it is still technically property of the Galactic Federation. Listen, I'm really not attempting to force you into anything, I just think it's best to put your skills to proper use, wouldn't you agree?"

I thought on everything he'd said, realizing that he was just trying to appeal to my logic. And that everything he had said correlated to my own thoughts.

"Alright, I'll take the job, though I still have to complete the mission I'm currently on," I said.

"Of course," said Sab Liath, "there are a couple things I need from you, though. First, I need a copy of the scan data you retrieved to the Dark Master".

"Wait… how do you know she has scan data on the Dark Master?" asked Ridley.

"I was talking to the Chronicler just now," answered Sab Liath.

"Okay," I said, "Let me just transfer the data to you".

His wrist computer beeped quietly as it received the data. He glanced at it and nodded.

"Next, I need access to you ship," Sab Liath, said, "I'd like to give it a few upgrades to help you in the future".

"Okay… but I don't think you'll fit inside," I said, "Do you want me to help you?"

"I appreciate your offer," Sab Liath said, "but I think you've earned yourself some rest. As for size, that shouldn't be a problem since…"

There was a flash of light, and in Sab Liath's place was a human-sized bipedal anthropomorphic dragon!

"… I can do this," Sab Liath finished.

"Uh… okay," I said, "Follow me".

We stepped outside to my ship, and we boarded.

"Welcome back Samus," said Adam, "and greetings to our guest as well".

"Adam, this is Sab Liath," I said, "he's going to give the ship some upgrades. I'm allowing him access to the ship so that he can complete his task".

"Acknowledged, Samus," said Adam, "access has been granted".

"Samus," said Sab Liath, "why don't you take some time to explore the city? It's been some time since you've gotten to rest. From what I can tell, you've been fighting almost nonstop since you arrived in this world. Everyone needs a break now and then…"

"Thank you," I said, "I'll do that".

I exited my ship, and returned to the interior of the Temple. The Guardians were there waiting patiently for me.

"Ah, Samus," said Cyril, "I believe you were going to tell what transpired in the depths of the mountain?"

"Yes I was," I said, then recounted the full events of the battle. From the Dark Master's appearance to when I obliterated its body with the Oblivion Cannon, to when he vanished through the portal. Ridley filled in the parts that only he saw, such as his journey through the interior of that overgrown imitation of himself, and of course about the surprise he pulled on the Dark Master. He also mentioned about the mutated Pirate who gave him the Portal Control, and what it told him.

"That is quite a tale," said Ignitus, "These events will certainly earn a place in the Books of Time".

"Yes," said Terrador, "Young warriors, you have done our world a great service. Your aid in our time of need will be remembered for ages to come".

"But... I caused all this to happen," said Ridley, "If I hadn't come here the Dark Master would never have escaped!"

"You don't know that," said Gneiss, "for all we know, the Dark Master would have escaped no matter what. It's also possible that even while sealed away, the Dark Master was able to exert some level of influence on you, pulling someone to release it. The point is, there's no sense in beating yourself up for the past".

"Anyway, now that the current threat has ended, it's time to rest… and rebuild, again," said Tempest, "Samus, Ridley, what will you do now?"

"I still need to complete my mission for the Luminoth," I said, "But until our gray-scaled friend finishes upgrading my ship, I'm not going anywhere. So, until then, I thought I'd take some time to see the sights".

"I… you know, I haven't gotten a chance to plan very far recently," said Ridley, "With everything that's occurred… everything I've learned since I've arrived here, I don't wish to go back to the Space Pirate, not that they'd likely in follow me in this state. Samus, I don't know exactly how to say this, but… are you interested in having a partner?"

"Ridley, are you asking to join me?" I asked, "And continue to fight at my side?"

"Well… yes," said Ridley.

"Ridley… I'd be happy to allow you to work alongside me," I said.

"You would?" asked Ridley.

"Of course I would. Besides, someone has to keep you out of trouble," I said "Well… now that's been sorted out, who's going to show us around the city?"

"We'll do it, but how about we wait until tomorrow? It's been a long day" said Gneiss.

I realized I was tired as well, so I let the Guardians lead me to a bed.

* * *

><p>The next morning, I prepared to set out to see the city.<p>

"Quick suggestion," said Gneiss, "It might be a good idea to assume your other form: you'd stick out less then".

I agreed, and switched into dragon form.

With that he, Tempest and Jolt lead Ridley and me out of the Temple, and we began our tour. We saw many interesting sights, including the Great Bazaar, the city's main marketplace. After that, we passed through the Monument to the Heroes of the Realms: a picturesque, statue filled park. I saw several familiar figures among the statues… including our current guides. There were also some Moles hard at work on a new pair of statues.

"Before you ask," said Gneiss, "we didn't ask for those statues to be made, the citizens of the city did that of their own accord".

Before long, our guides lead us into the ancient ruins beneath the city, and showed us that mural they mentioned earlier. It was exactly as they had described: It depicted a purple dragon, likely Malefor, in combat with some strange creature… It was true… that creature that did bear a strong resemblance to the Leviathans. I scanned the text beneath the mural for translation.

_Translation: This Mural was commissioned to commemorate our greatest hero, Malefor, who defended us from not only the threats prevalent in our lands, but from ones from places beyond what we ever could have imagined. He shielded us annihilation at the hands of the Reaper._

This was interesting and valuable information… it seems that I now had a name for our foe. After this, we returned to the Temple. I saw that the modifications to my ship weren't quite finished yet, so I followed the others inside.

"So Samus, did you enjoy your tour?" asked Ignitus.

"Yes, it was quite interesting," I said, "but I've got a question: What do you know about a being called a 'Reaper?'"

"Wha… what did you say?" stuttered Ignitus, "That's…"

"Congratulations," Said Sab Liath as he entered the room, "You've done what most would consider impossible: You've managed to surprise the Chronicler. So the Reapers, is it? That gives me a good lead to pursue. I'll need to look up any information I can find on that name. Anyway, I've finished the upgrades to your ship. Come outside and I'll show you its new features".

I switched back to my human form and followed, with Ridley trailing along behind me. We quickly came upon my ship. It looked exactly the same.

"I managed to preserve your ship's external appearance," said Sab Liath, "but rest assured, internally I've made some major improvements".

We stepped onto the elevator platform, and we entered the ship. As soon as I saw the interior, I knew he wasn't kidding. It seemed that somehow he'd managed to make the ship's interior larger that the exterior. In fact, I could move around easily around in here in dragonform, and have plenty of extra space.

"The cockpit is pretty much the same as you left it, though I added a Dimension Shift module. You'll need it in the future," said Sab Liath, "As for the rest of the ship… the interior of the ship is now its own pocket dimension that is permanently bound to the hull of the ship, thus allowing the increase in interior space. Both of you have your own private quarters to the aft, and even better, these rooms are adaptive to your wants and needs".

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Ridley.

"Why don't you find out for yourself?" Sab Liath as he gestured to the left door.

Ridley stepped up and opened the door. The revealed room had a comfortable looking bed, along with a computer terminal, a storage rack for his armor, and several other features.

"Of course, this is just the default setting," Sab Liath said, "but using the control panel just outside the door, you can adjust the appearance to be anything you want, by use of semi-solid holography. For example…"

He closed the door, types a series of commands into the console, and the re-opened the door. The room was now a small cave, complete with a 'window' overlooking a forest outside.

"That's useful," I said, "is there anything else we should know about?"

"Let's see," said Sab Liath, "well, there's the new Comms Channel I added to the registry, so that we can contact you when we need your aid, and then there are the engines. They have been modified to be extremely efficient, meaning you'll almost never need to refuel. On top of they can be rapidly adapted to work with whatever the local technology is. As for everything else… in the main cabin, you can find a set of portal emitters. They are set up to generate a large enough portal to allow a full-grown dragon into the ship. The outer end of the portal will appear just outside the ship, thus allowing it to be used as a sort of 'back door'. Do you have any questions?"

"You said you would call us when our aid is needed," I said, "when will that be?"

"I have absolutely no idea," Sab Liath said, "It depends on how long it takes to fully process the data you provided".

"Where's Adam?" I asked, "He's been rather quiet".

"I am right here Samus," said Adam, "I had decided to allow our guest to complete giving you the tour before chiming in. All systems are fully operational we may depart when you are ready".

"Alright Adam," I said, "Give us some time, we just need to say our goodbyes to our gracious hosts".

"Acknowledged, Samus," said Adam, "I shall run a series of flight projections for our coming departure".

I nodded and we disembarked. I saw that the Guardians, Spyro, Cynder, Gneiss, Tempest, and Jolt had come out to meet us.

"Thank you… all of you for your hospitality," I said, "But we must be going now… we need to return to our home realm".

"We understand," said Spyro, "but you will come back to visit, right?"

"We will if it's possible," I said.

"Of course you can come back here," said Sab Liath, "You're already tied to this world so you can return here when you please. I've already programmed the coordinates for this reality into your ship's Nav system, along with the coordinates of several 'safe travel' worlds, which as long as you follow the listed guidelines for that particular reality, you will be just fine. Oh, one more thing… when you use the Auto-return function on that Portal Control Device your carrying, I strongly suggest being as close to your initial exit point as possible… the effect of activating the device will pull you back along the same path you took to get here, and it could be dangerous to use it from too far away. Oh, and before you ask… no, the dreadnought isn't going anywhere".

Just then, his wrist computer stared beeping.

"Huh?" said Sab Liath, "Well, well, busy day… It seems I need to be off as well. Goodbye to all of you…"

With that he took flight, suddenly accelerated to a seemingly impossible velocity, and vanished in a flash of light.

"It's time we were off as well," I said, "let's go, Ridley".

"Travel safely brave warriors," said Terrador, "and may the Ancestors watch over you".

With that Ridley and I boarded my gunship, and went to the cockpit. I sat down in the pilot's seat, while Ridley stood slightly behind me. I took the controls and plotted a course towards the approximate point in space where we'd first entered this reality. It wasn't long before we were at the correct location.

"Ridley," I said, "Activate the auto-return".

"Okay here we… go!" said Ridley.

I heard a series of quiet beeps from behind me, and suddenly a swirling hole in the fabric of space-time appeared, and we were gently pulled through.

* * *

><p><span>Reality: MET-0596-Theta<span>

We passed through the Rift Portal. It was a much smoother ride this time, most likely due to either the ship's new upgrades, or possibly because the portal wasn't actively destabilizing. In any case, we arrived back at planet Aeia safely. We disembarked, and I prepared to fight whatever Space Pirates were still in the base. That is until Ridley mentioned that when he'd fled through the portal earlier, he tripped the evacuation alarm.

We then retrieved and packed up the Portal Array, using the 'back door' to load it into my gunship. We then took off once again. We flew out of the abandoned facility and set the Hyperdrive to take us to Aether.

Once we arrived on Aether, I landed my ship in the courtyard just outside the Great Temple's South entrance, just north of the path to the Torvus Bog. Ridley and I disembarked, and were met by the lead Sentinel of the Luminoth, U-Mos.

"Greetings, Samus," said U-Mos, "you were able to recover the Prototype?"

"Of course," I said.

I then opened the 'back door' to my ship and, with Ridley's help, retrieved components of the Portal Array.

"Here you are," I said, "everything's there".

"Thank you Samus," U-Mos said, "and you as well, Ridley".

"You recognize me?" said Ridley.

"Of course I do," Said U-Mos, "but I can see you've changed in several ways… and you have as well, Samus. You may keep the Dark, Light, and Annihilator Beams, they are part of you now".

"Thank you, U-Mos," I said, "we would love to stay a while longer, but unfortunately we must be off".

"Farewell, Samus. Farewell, Ridley," said U-Mos, "and may the Light of Aether guide you".

Ridley and I climbed back aboard my gunship, and took off once again.

"So, Ridley," I asked, "Where to now?"

"I don't know," Ridley replied, "Vacation... then maybe destroy a few Space Pirate base?"

"An excellent idea," I said, "how about, for now, I select a random destination from this list of realities?"

I tapped a few commands into the console, and as I finished, the ship accelerated… taking us to our next destination.

**Mission Complete**

* * *

><p>AN: Cue Metroid series ending theme! Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this story. I hope to see you again in the next story. Goodbye for now, and see you in the next story!


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